Puttanesca Pasta

Posted on 7 July, 2017

Anchovies, sun dried tomatoes, whole plum tomatoes, black olives, capers and basil tossed in a rich tomato sauce make this puttanesca pasta your new favourite in the chillier weather!

Ingredients

Serves four

For the sauce: 

Note: if you like a really saucy pasta, double the measurements here (except pasta). I did so for the photos in this post. 

• 3 tablespoons good quality olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled & lightly smashed (or use 3 teaspoons minced garlic)
• 3-6 anchovy fillets (depending on your taste)
• 1 400g can who plum tomatoes
• 6 semi-dried tomatoes, cut into strips
• 1/2 cup pitted black olives, torn in half
• 3 tablespoons capers
• Crushed red pepper flakes to taste
• Fresh basil to taste
• Parmesan to taste
• 400g pasta (I used Linguine)

Method

1. Heat oil in a large fry pan, add the garlic and cook until browning (around 1 minute). Add the anchovies and cook for a few minutes. Break open the whole plum tomatoes and add to the pan with the juices. Simmer for 10 minutes until slightly thickened. Add the semi-dried tomatoes, olives and capers. Season sauce with crushed red pepper, salt and pepper. Stir through basil leaves. 

2. Meanwhile, cook the pasta as per instructions. Drain, reserving a few tablespoons of pasta water to add to the sauce. Loosen spaghetti by giving it a good lug of olive oil.

3. Toss cooked pasta with sauce, pasta water and serve with freshly grated parmesan and some extra basil leaves.

Storage: sauce will keep in an airtight container for up to a week.

For more recipes, check out Canberra-based food and recipe blog, The Macadames. Don’t forget to hashtag #cookwiththemacadames when making my recipes. I love to see how you went and get a peek at your kitchen table.