Make Butter Pasta Even Better With This Extra-Savory Swap

Buttered noodles are one of the best comfort food dishes out there. There is something very homey about eating the slippery-slidey and carby pasta noodles topped with a copious amount of rich, salty butter. While much of the beauty of this dish is in its simplicity, there are numerous ways to doctor up your buttered pasta to give it a more sophisticated and adult flavor, and you can make yours extra savory by adding anchovies. 

Rather than adding whole filets to your dish, you'll want to whip up a 3-ingredient anchovy butter by cooking the anchovies on a stove with some melted butter until they dissolve. Then, after it's cooled, you'll simply add the melted butter to a separate container of softened butter and parsley. When you're ready to serve, add a scoop to the top of your noodles and dive in. The umami, salty essence from the anchovies will balance the richness of the butter and add a layer of complexity to this dish.

Although noodles and anchovy butter are technically a perfectly fine two-component meal, you could also add even more flavor by incorporating other ingredients to your butter pasta. A sprinkle of grated Parmesan would play well off the richness of the pasta and highlight the savory notes in the sauce. Not to mention, who doesn't love cheesy noodles? You could also ground the dish by adding additional fresh parsley or serving your noodles alongside a fresh green salad.

Not a fan of anchovies? No need to worry; you can play with other compound butters to add even more flavor to your buttered noodles. For one, you can skip the fish and add a mixture of fresh herbs to your butter instead; chopped parsley, dill, lemon zest, chives, and Italian seasoning can add a summery twist. You can also whip the butter with miso and Parmesan for a savory and rich version of this comfort food classic.