This pasta puttanesca recipe stars a flavorful tomato sauce full of garlic, olives, and capers. Excellent for weeknights, it is prepared in half-hour!
Pasta puttanesca is an ideal instance of what I like about Italian cooking. This Southern Italian dish incorporates a garlicky tomato sauce spiked with briny olives, capers, and anchovies. It requires easy elements and minimal prep, but it surely nonetheless delivers wealthy, daring taste.
I shared a puttanesca recipe with zucchini noodles in Love & Lemons Each Day, however since this traditional pasta is certainly one of my weeknight favorites, I believed it was about time I shared a extra conventional recipe too. It requires 10 elements, cooks in below half-hour, and is completely scrumptious. I hope you find it irresistible as a lot as I do!
What does puttanesca imply?
The Italian phrase puttanesca interprets to “within the fashion of a prostitute.” I solely discovered this lately, and after having fun with pasta puttanesca for years, I used to be intrigued—how did this dish get its identify?
Effectively, it appears to be up for debate. One idea goes that its pungent aroma was designed to attract prospects into brothels of the Spanish Quarters of Naples. One other suggests {that a} chef from Ischia made the primary pasta puttanesca when a hungry crowd of shoppers arrived at his restaurant late at night time and he needed to improvise a meal utilizing pantry staples. Whether or not or not both story is true, it appears probably that pasta puttanesca originated in Italy’s Campania area within the mid-Twentieth century.
Pasta Puttanesca Components
Puttanesca sauce stars three well-known elements: capers, olives, and anchovies. They create its distinctive tangy, briny style.
My recipe is vegetarian, so I skip the anchovies, however the capers and olives nonetheless pack in loads of taste.
Right here’s what else you’ll must make it:
- Complete peeled tomatoes – Canned tomatoes make up the bottom of this pantry-friendly sauce. Select San Marzano tomatoes for the sweetest taste.
- Shallot and garlic – They add sharp, savory depth of taste.
- Pink pepper flakes – For warmth.
- Additional-virgin olive oil – For richness.
- Chopped recent parsley – It affords a pleasant recent distinction to the briny pasta sauce. Recent basil or oregano is beautiful right here too.
- And sea salt – To make all of the flavors pop!
A fast observe on pasta: Spaghetti is most conventional right here, however you would actually use any kind of pasta. I usually attain for an extended form—possibly bucatini or linguine if I’m not utilizing spaghetti.
Discover the whole recipe with measurements beneath.
How one can Make Pasta Puttanesca
You could find the whole pasta puttanesca recipe with measurements beneath, however for now, right here’s a fast overview of the way it goes:
Begin by prepping the tomatoes. Drain the juices (they’d make the sauce too watery), then switch the tomatoes to a big bowl. Use your fingers to crush them right into a thick, chunky sauce. Put aside.
Subsequent, prepare dinner the aromatics. Sauté the shallots till softened, about 4 to five minutes, then add the capers, olives, garlic, and pink pepper flakes and sizzle for two minutes to infuse the olive oil with taste.
Stir within the crushed tomatoes and simmer to develop the flavors within the sauce, about 8 to 10 minutes.
In the meantime, prepare dinner the pasta. Comply with the directions on the package deal, cooking till the pasta is al dente. Earlier than draining it, reserve 1 cup of the starchy pasta cooking water.
Add the pasta to the pan with the sauce, together with 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water. Toss to coat, including extra pasta water as wanted.
Lastly, add the parsley and toss to mix. Season to style and serve with extra parsley for garnish.
What to Serve with Spaghetti alla Puttanesca
I like to serve this recipe with a salad on the aspect. It pairs completely with something inexperienced and leafy, like this inexperienced salad or this Caesar salad. It could be good with some easy sautéed broccolini too!
You may additionally need to serve it with crusty bread for sopping up the flavorful sauce. Degree up the meal by making home made garlic bread, garlic knots, or focaccia.
How one can Retailer
Leftover pasta puttanesca retains effectively in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 3 days. Reheat it within the microwave or on the stovetop.
Extra Pasta Recipes to Strive
Should you love this pasta puttanesca recipe, attempt certainly one of these scrumptious pastas subsequent:
Pasta Puttanesca
Serves 4
This pasta puttanesca recipe is my tackle the traditional Italian dish, that includes a flavorful tomato sauce full of garlic, capers, and olives. Excellent for weeknights, it comes collectively in below half-hour with easy pantry elements!
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Place the tomatoes in a big bowl and use your fingers to crush them. Put aside.
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Warmth the olive oil in a big skillet over medium warmth. Add the shallot and salt and prepare dinner, stirring sometimes, for 4 to five minutes, or till softened. Add the garlic, pink pepper flakes, capers, and olives and sizzle, stirring sometimes, for two minutes.
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Add the crushed tomatoes and prepare dinner for 8 to 10 minutes to develop the flavors.
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In the meantime, prepare dinner the pasta. Convey a big pot of salted water to a boil. Put together the spaghetti in keeping with the package deal directions, cooking till al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the starchy pasta water, then drain the pasta.
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Add the pasta and ½ cup of the reserved pasta water to the skillet with the tomato combination. Cook dinner, tossing, for 1 to 2 minutes over low warmth, including extra pasta water as wanted to coat the pasta in a lightweight sauce.
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Add the parsley and toss to include. Season to style and serve topped with extra parsley, if desired.
