Authentic Pasta alla Puttanesca Recipe
Make my easy Pasta Puttanesca recipe with a bold, savory tomato sauce full of garlic, anchovies, olives, capers, and a touch of spice. This classic Italian puttanesca recipe comes together quickly, making it the perfect weeknight spaghetti puttanesca you’ll cook again and again.
Servings: 6
Equipment
- Tongs
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4-6 anchovy fillets to your taste
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional and use more if you like it hot
- 3-4 large garlic cloves minced
- 1 28- ounce can whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes
- ½ cup pitted gaeta or kalamata olives sliced
- 4 Tablespoons capers
- salt for the pasta water and optional for the sauce
- ½ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once the water boils, salt it. Bring to another boil, and add in the pasta. Cook it to 1 minute less than al dente.
- In a large saute' pan, add the extra-virgin olive oil and heat until it's shimmering. Add in the anchovies and stir with a wooden spoon breaking them up. They will melt right into the oil. If you are making your sauce spicy, add in the red pepper flakes (to your taste).
- Add in the garlic and once it is fragrant and has a little color, add in the tomatoes and their juices.
- Stir with wooden spoon to break up.
- Add in the olives and capers and bring the sauce to a simmer. Check the sauce and add a little salt, if needed. Mine was salty enough from the anchovies, olives, and capers, so I did not add any salt.
- As soon as the water boils, boil your pasta (I used spaghetti and mine was just before al dente at around 8 minutes). Drain the pasta when it is just before reaching al dente. Reserve ½ cup of the pasta water.
- Raise the heat of the sauce a little. Add the pasta to the saute' pan with the sauce. Stir to combine and add a little bit of pasta water if the sauce is too thick.
- Plate up the pasta and add on some chopped Italian parsley. ENJOY!
Nutrition Disclaimer
Please keep in mind that the nutritional information presented below is an approximation and may vary depending on the exact ingredients used.
Notes
Variations for pasta with puttanesca sauce:
- Tuna puttanesca: Yes, there are versions in Italy where canned tuna is added to the sauce. It is also a delicious way to enjoy the sauce, although, I prefer mine without the tuna. Use a good quality tuna if you are trying it.
- salmon puttanesca: Instead of tuna, you could add a very good quality canned salmon.
- Spicy puttanesca: I do mention that it's optional to add in any chili pepper flakes, but if you like it hot, go ahead and add some in to spice up this incredible sauce. Make it with a touch of spice, or molto piccante (VERY spicy). It's up to you!
- Splash of wine: Add a splash of white or red wine to the sauce while it's simmering. Make sure it's a bottle you have open. I do not recommend using cooking wine. It should be a good wine that you actually would drink.
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