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Pasta Puttanesca

Wonderful mediterranean flavors, you can change up the ingredients to suit what you have on hand.

What you need

  1. 1/2 to 3/4 lb. spaghetti, linguini, bucatini, etc. (I prefer Barilla Plus brand which is available in spaghetti or thin spaghetti)
  2. Olive Oil
  3. 3-6 anchovy fillets
  4. 2/3 - 1 cup pitted and chopped Kalamata Olives
  5. 1-2 tbl capers
  6. 1/2 - 1 tsp hot red pepper flakes
  7. Large handful Basil chiffonade or 1/2 tsp dried basil leaves
  8. 2 or more cloves garlic, minced
  9. Zest from 1 meyer lemon
  10. 1/2 cup dry white wine or juice from 1/2 fresh meyer lemon
  11. 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth or soaking liquid from sun-dried tomatoes
  12. 1 cup sun dried tomatoes (either well drained oil packed, or rehydrated dried)
  13. 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half or 1/2 - 1 can diced tomatoes in sauce or juice
  14. Large handful chopped parsley
  15. Grated Romano cheese

How to make it

  1. Cook pasta about 5-7 minutes, until not quite done
  2. Heat olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat
  3. Add anchovies and mash - heat until they dissolve
  4. Add garlic, olives, capers, red pepper flakes and cook for about 3 minutes - this will become amazingly fragrant
  5. Add wine or lemon juice and stir - cook a couple of minutes
  6. Add broth or tomato water, lemon zest, basil and tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes begin to soften - the sauce will start to thicken slightly
  7. Add pasta and combine with sauce. Continue to cook until the pasta is done to your liking.
  8. Turn off heat and let stand.
  9. Place in pasta serving dish and top with parsley and romano cheese.

*You can use pasta cooking water instead of broth or tomato soaking liquid

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