Pasta Puttanesca
A punchy, umami forward pasta that can be made with mostly pantry staples.
This recipe breakdown originally appeared in The Mouthful, our weekly food newsletter for the curious home cook.
Keith McBrayer
Ingredients
The sauce
- olive oil2 spoonfuls30 g
- garlic, thinly sliced3-4 cloves
- anchovies4-6
- olivesa handful100 g
- capers2 spoonfuls30 g
- cherry tomatoes, halved2 handfuls200 g
The pasta & garnish
- spaghetti340 g12 oz / .75 lb
- parsley, minced
Method
Step 1: Boil the pasta
Bring a pot of water to a . While you wait, gather all remaining ingredients.
- No salt is needed in the water since you can finish cooking the pasta in the sauce which has many salty elements.
Add the pasta to the water and set a timer according to package directions - minus 2 minutes (or go until just before al dente).
Step 2: Sauté the sauce base
In the meantime, set a large sauté pan to medium heat and add the olive oil. Add in the garlic slices and until fragrant but not colored.
Add in the anchovies, capers, and olives and for 1-2 minutes until the anchovies begin to dissolve into the oil.
- Bonus points: add in the oil from the anchovy tin for extra flavor!
Add the halved cherry tomatoes and sauté until they begin to break down and release their juices. Optionally, cover the pan to the tomatoes and help them break down faster.
Step 3: Drain & add the pasta
When the pasta timer is up and the noodles have mostly finished cooking (just before al dente), use tongs to transfer the noodles into the pan with the sauce base.
- You can drain the noodles in a colander, just be sure to reserve some of the pasta water.
Toss and cook the pasta with the sauce base until the noodles are fully cooked through, the tomatoes have broken down, and the sauce coats the noodles.
- If the sauce becomes too tight before the noodles have cooked through, adjust with a splash of pasta water.
Step 4: Finish & serve
Once the noodles are cooked through and the sauce has reached your desired consistency, turn off the heat.
Taste the dish. Adjust with salt, if needed, or garnish with extra anchovies/capers/olives for more salinity. Top with parsley and serve warm.
FAQ
Also Appears In
Free Spice Guide
Join The Mouthful Newsletter to receive our essential spices list pdf.
Just subscribe to our weekly newsletter where 60,000+ readers get lifestyle protocols, recipe frameworks, Q&A from expert home cooks, and cooking trends explained.
We hate spam too. Unsubscribe anytime.