Description
A classic Italian pasta dish, Pasta Puttanesca is a flavorful and easy recipe that combines briny olives, capers, and anchovies in a rich tomato sauce. Tossed with spaghetti and finished with fresh parsley, this dish is sure to become a family favorite.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 3 to 4 canned anchovies, chopped
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 tablespoons small (non-pariel) capers
- 3/4 cup (95g) pitted olives (black or green), roughly chopped
Additional:
- 1 pound spaghetti, linguine, or fettuccine
- Salt
- Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Heat the pasta water: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (1 tablespoon of salt for every 2 quarts of water). While the water is heating, start making the sauce.
- Cook the onions, anchovies, garlic: Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, deep sauté pan. When the oil is hot, cook the onions until they’re soft and translucent, about 4 to 5 minutes. While the onions are cooking, stir in the chopped anchovies along with some of the oil from the can. Add the finely chopped garlic and cook another minute.
- Make the sauce: Mix in the tomato paste and cook it for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the crushed tomatoes, oregano, chili pepper flakes, olives, and capers. Bring the sauce to a simmer, then lower the heat to low to maintain a gentle simmer, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Cook the spaghetti: When the salted pasta water is at a rolling boil, add the pasta. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions, to al dente, cooked but still slightly firm. Before draining, save about 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water to add back later, if needed.
- Finish the sauce: Stir the parsley into the pasta sauce. Add some pasta water into the sauce to thin it if it has become too thick.
- Serve: Drain the pasta and put in a large bowl. If you want, mix a little olive oil into the pasta so the pasta doesn’t stick together. Add a ladle’s worth of sauce to the pasta and mix to combine. Serve in shallow bowls with more sauce on top.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 427
- Sugar: 9g
- Sodium: 659mg
- Fat: 10g
- Saturated Fat: 2g
- Carbohydrates: 72g
- Fiber: 6g
- Protein: 14g
- Cholesterol: 3mg
