This Pasta Puttanesca, made with tomatoes, anchovies, capers, garlic, and olives, is a simple yet sophisticated dish that is packed with addictive salty, pungent flavours. A beloved Italian classic that gets dinner on the table in no time.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time20 minutesmins
Total Time30 minutesmins
Servings: 4
Ingredients
3tablespoonsextra-virgin olive oil
4small cloves of garlic, or 2 fatpeeled and thinly sliced
4anchovy fillets (or more to taste)rinsed if packed in salt
3tablespoonscapers drained
1/2teaspooncrushed red pepper flakes or more to taste
3/4cupun-pitted black olives (I use Kalamata)
1 28-ouncecan whole tomatoes
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
kosher salt
1poundspaghetti, linguini, or other long pasta
2tablespoonschopped fresh parsleyoptional, for garnish
Instructions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
While you wait for the water to boil, make the sauce. Heat the olive oil in a large deep skillet or saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the garlic and sauté until fragrant and lightly golden, about 1 minute. Add the anchovies and stir until they melt and disintegrate into the oil.
Stir in the capers, crushed red pepper flakes, and olives and sauté for 1 more minute, or so. Pour in the canned tomatoes and quickly help crush them down with a wooden spoon or spatula. Raise heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally until tomatoes break down and sauce has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes. Season with freshly ground pepper, to taste.
Once water is boiling, add two tablespoons of salt along with the pasta. Cook, stirring occasionally, until pasta is al dente, about 2 minutes less than directed on the package.
Drain the pasta, reserving a cup or two of the pasta water. Alternatively, skip the draining and use tongs to transfer the pasta directly into the sauce. Toss the pasta with the sauce until throughly coated and allow it to cook in the sauce for 1 or 2 minutes, adding a splash or two of pasta water. Remove from heat.
Serve immediately garnished with chopped parsley, if desired.
Notes
Pasta Tips
Use dried pasta, not fresh. A good-quality dried pasta is a better choice than fresh. Though I love fresh pasta, it just doesn't hold up as well when tossed with the hot tomato sauce.
Generously salt the water. Despite all the salty ingredients in the sauce, the water should be salty enough to properly flavour the pasta. I use Diamond Crystal Kosher salt which is less salty than others (such as Morton's or Windsor).
Add the salt after the water has boiled. This prevents the salt from sitting at the bottom of pan which can cause the pan to pit.
Undercook the pasta. Stop cooking the pasta when it tastes very al dente. In other words, almost uncomfortably al dente. Otherwise, it will be too mushy when it continues cooking in the hot sauce. A sure way to not overcook the pasta is to cook it 2-3 minutes less than the package instructs.
Toss the pasta with the hot sauce. For pasta puttanesca you want to always toss the pasta with the sauce until thoroughly coated.
Reserve some pasta water. I always save pasta water in case the sauce seems a bit dry. It is also a great idea to save some of the water for reheating the pasta the next day.
Skip draining the pasta. Use tongs to fish out the spaghetti strands and transfer them straight into the sauce. A little bit of excess pasta water clinging to the noodles is welcome.