Alexandra's Kitchen

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The New Basics Puttanesca

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The hardest part about making this puttanesca is smashing a few cloves of garlic and coarsely chopping a half cup of olives. The rest comes from pantry staples: plum tomatoes, anchovies, capers. After an hour of simmering, the plum tomatoes break down, the anchovies dissolve, the cloves of garlic melt. The sauce can certainly be made ahead and the pasta cooked just before dinner, which makes for easy preparations at the dinner hour. // alexandracooks.com

Sometimes dinner needs to come from a box or a tin or a jar or, if you are making The New Basics pasta puttanesca, all of the above.

A few weeks ago, my neighbor, the one who introduced me to The Moosewood tomato salsa, strolled by the house, casually noting she was making a big pot of puttanesca, and wondered if we would like to join her. Well, as you can imagine, we did, and we gobbled up every olive, caper and strand of the spaghetti clinging to the pot.

Before I left that night, I snapped a photo of the recipe open on Sandra’s counter, and I’ve made the pasta once a week since. The hardest part about making the sauce is smashing a few cloves of garlic and coarsely chopping a half cup of olives. The rest comes from pantry staples: plum tomatoes, anchovies (a whole tin!), capers (a whole jar!). After an hour of simmering — this is easy, not fast — the plum tomatoes break down, the anchovies dissolve, the cloves of garlic melt. The sauce can certainly be made ahead and the pasta cooked just before dinner, which makes for easy preparations at the dinner hour.

ingredients

puttanesca sauce

bowl of pasta

The hardest part about making this puttanesca is smashing a few cloves of garlic and coarsely chopping a half cup of olives. The rest comes from pantry staples: plum tomatoes, anchovies, capers. After an hour of simmering, the plum tomatoes break down, the anchovies dissolve, the cloves of garlic melt. The sauce can certainly be made ahead and the pasta cooked just before dinner, which makes for easy preparations at the dinner hour. // alexandracooks.com

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The New Basics Puttanesca

Prep

Cook

Total

Yield 4

Adapted from The New Basics Cookbook If you are sensitive to salt, this may not be the dish for you, but cutting back the quantities of capers, anchovies and olives would reduce the saltiness. Also, a splash of heavy cream never hurts.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 can (2 oz.) anchovy fillets, undrained
  • 4 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 28-oz can San Marzano plum tomatoes
  • 1 jar (2 1/2 oz) or 1/4 cup capers, drained
  • 1/2 cup black or kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
  • freshly cracked black pepper to taste
  • 1/2 lb. pasta — shapes like campanelle and orecchiette catch all of those yummy bites of capers and olives, but use what you like

Instructions

  1. Place all ingredients with the exception of the pasta in large pot or wide-mouthed sauté pans. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour, stirring every so often — you need something like a potato masher or flat-bottomed whisk or wooden spoon to gently crush the tomatoes as well as the garlic cloves every so often. The anchovies dissolve on their own, but the tomatoes and garlic need assistance.
  2. Boil pasta — no need to salt the water — drain, and toss with sauce.

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Comments

  3. I’ve had some deadlines lately and have been struggling with the paucity of edible fast food places in my neighborhood and have grown so tired of the remotely edible stand-ins–now, you’ve rescued me, especially with the cold weather. Thank you! This recipe will be a new staple. A little chopped parsley, if one more step, would be nice, yes? Even better–a loaf of your peasant bread on the side.

    Reply

  7. A pasta post! and I just bought a pasta roller attachment for my Kitchen Aid last night! lol! I am very excited to make pasta myself for the first time!

    Reply

  8. Thank you for this recipe. Delicious. I made it last evening for dinner, super easy and effortless. My husband and daughter loved it, as they are fond of olives. I am not. I used kalamata olives, next time I will try using black instead. It may appeal to all of us then. Also added some basil. I can’t get enough of it lately. Love your site. You are my go to for trusted recipes. Don’t stop or we will all be hungry here. 🙂

    Reply

  9. This is the dish my husband requests every birthday. We first had it when dating at a little restaurant in Berkeley (now sadly closed). I found the trick to reproducing it was the can of anchovies plus the oil they were in. Yes, not a good one if you are watching salt!

    Reply

    • Sorry just seeing this! Sorry to hear about the restaurant but glad you know how to recreate the dish … it’s become a staple around here … no one’s watching their salt intake 🙂

      Reply

  10. I made this last night for dinner–you’re right, it comes together in 5 minutes, and the hour simmering makes the creamiest sauce with little pools of golden olive oil amidst the tomatoes, which deepen in color and intensify in flavor. You wouldn’t know the anchovies are there except for the earthy under notes. I did add a dusting of parmigiano reggiano when serving, but it needs nothing really. What a great Friday night meal after a long week–like going out but wearing your comfy clothes. This is a recipe to return to.

    Reply

  12. I just made this tonight, and it’s AWESOME! I didn’t have anchovies so I used sardines, and I added some mushrooms. Super yummy. Definitely going to make again and again.

    Reply

  13. Moi je dis juste Bravo
    exactement comme je l’ai toujours préparé
    La simplicité mène au progrès je vois que les choses ne se perde pas i’m happy

    Reply

  14. Hi Alexandra – I’ve been following your blog (and cooking the recipes) for months. You’re my go-to place whenever I want to try something new, am having people over, or just want to look at beautiful photos. Made this Sunday for our annual Golden Globes party and everyone raved – had leftovers again tonite and liked it even more! Used orrechetti pasta which made beautiful little cups for the sauce. Thanks!

    Reply

    • So happy to hear this, Veronica! It’s such a good pantry-cooking recipe, right? And thank you for your kind words. Means so much. Your annual party sounds fun!

      Reply

  15. This looks incredible (I guess I need to open my New Basics cookbook more often). I think I’ll double this to freeze extra sauce for the cold months. Would you double all ingredients, including the oil? One cup sounds like a lot?

    Reply

  16. Yup, you really can’t go wrong with this! DJ (who eats salt straight-up by the pinch) was in some kind of seventh heaven. This would be gorgeous over fish or chicken too, but we didn’t have any leftovers. 🙂 Also, wanna come to VT on Feb. 6? I’m hosting a soup swap! xox

    Reply

    • So happy to hear this, Linds! And happy to hear from you 🙂 I would love to come to your soup swap but I can’t on the 6th 🙁 But I will be in VT soon — I’ll keep you posted! xo

      Reply

  18. Had this bookmarked forever and finally just made, exactly as written. I think you’re the only person whose recipes I follow exactly, haha. It was so delicious. Salty in a comforting way.

    Reply

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