Caramelized Shallot Pasta

INGREDIENTS

• ¼ cup olive oil
• 6 large shallots, very thinly sliced
• 5 garlic cloves, 4 thinly sliced, 1 finely
• chopped
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black
• pepper
• 1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes, plus
• more to taste
• 1 (2-ounce) can anchovy fillets
• (about 12), drained
• 1 (4.5-ounce) tube or (6-ounce) can
• of tomato paste (about ½ to ¾ cup)
• 10 ounces pasta
• 1 cup parsley, leaves and tender
• stems, finely chopped
• Flaky sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium high. Add shallots and thinly sliced garlic, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallots have become totally softened and caramelized with golden-brown fried edges, 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Add red-pepper flakes and anchovies. (No need to chop the anchovies; they will dissolve on their own.) Stir to melt the anchovies into the shallots, about 2 minutes.
3. Add tomato paste and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly to prevent any scorching, until the tomato paste has started to cook in the oil a bit, caramelizing at the edges and going from bright red to a deeper brick red color, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer about half the mixture to a resealable container, leaving the rest behind. (These are your leftovers to be used elsewhere: in another batch of pasta or smeared onto roasted vegetables, spooned over fried eggs or spread underneath crispy chicken thighs.)