spaghetti allo scammaro

I can think of half a dozen Italian regions which claim as their own anchovy sauces or toppings for pasta. To be absolutely precise I should probably add that I’m not just talking about recipes where anchovies are one of the one or two main ingredients, but rather where anchovies are a major taste in the dish.... so Bigoli in Salsa from Veneto; in Tuscany and Liguria there’s Acciugata (a vary early anchovy pesto; more recent incarnations add tomato and other ingredients); in Puglia you’ll find Orecchiette alla Cima di Rapa (where anchovies are a key ingredient) and in Naples you have Alla Puttanesca, which really can’t exist at all without some anchovies. I could also add all the (related) salty fish recipes likes Sarde in Saor (Venice) or Pasta con le Sarde (Sicily).

Spaghetti allo Scammaro originate in Naples in the 19th century. It’s come to be seen as a real classic Napolitan dish, with its roots in the foods eaten - or rather not eaten - during Lent. For devout Catholics of the time, meat tended to be off the menu on feast days and in full fasting periods of the Church’s calendar like Lent. In monastries more simple meals at these times of year were still the norm but monks who were sick or perhaps confined to their rooms (‘camere’) were gieven special permission to eat heavier, fattier meals. Over time, to eat outside one’s room became known as ‘scammerare’ and synonymous with the lighter, vegetarian or fish-based recipes, like this one.