Bobby Flay Just Made Ina Garten His Favorite Weeknight Pasta Dinner, and It "Could Not Be Simpler"

Two of our favorite celebrity chefs just joined forces, and we’re so excited. In the most recent episode of Ina Garten’s show Be My Guest, the guest was none other than Bobby Flay. Together, they prepared a dinner and dessert that was nothing short of comforting.

Flay took charge of the dinner and made an easy weeknight pasta. But this fettuccine dish is entirely elevated, as it highlights a protein-packed pantry staple: anchovies.

“I love anchovies, so you picked the right person for this,” Garten quips in her interview with Flay prior to cooking. Flay has also shared in the past that anchovies are one of the simple ingredients that he cannot live without.

You only need six key ingredients to make Flay’s Fresh Pasta with Anchovy Butter and Chives: fettuccine pasta, butter, anchovies, garlic, lemon zest and chives—as well as pantry staples like salt, pepper and oil. For an added crunch, the Food Network star also whips up garlic-toasted breadcrumbs to top off the pasta.

To make the anchovy butter, Flay simply mixes up the anchovies, butter, salt and pepper in a bowl until smooth. After boiling the pasta until al dente, the chef incorporates pasta water with the butter to create a sauce that coats the fettuccine noodles once added to the bowl. To make the breadcrumbs, Flay toasts panko breadcrumbs seasoned with extra-virgin olive oil, butter, garlic paste (which can be made at home by blending peeled garlic and oil in a food processor), lemon zest, salt and pepper. You can toast your breadcrumbs quickly in a skillet for enhanced flavor.

When the ingredients are combined, the result is a creamy, luxurious pasta that utilizes pantry ingredients while tasting like you spent hours on it. But, really, it was only minutes. If you’re wary about the anchovies, Garten says that this dish would pass the test for anchovy-haters, as the taste is perfectly subtle. We can see why Flay says this dish is the “perfect speedy supper" and “could not be simpler.”

A satisfying pasta is an easy weeknight dinner we can get behind. And an added serving of veggies, like a simple side salad, will make this meal all the more filling. We even like including some greens into the main dish itself, like in our Garlic-Anchovy Pasta with Broccolini recipe that our readers say is “absolutely delicious.”

For dessert, Garten ended the meal with an Irish Coffee Affogato and Biscotti. Add a scoop of ice cream to this four-ingredient Irish Coffee to wind down after dinner, or omit the whiskey if you’re looking for something sweet without the alcohol.