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Spaghetti alla puttanesca
Puttanesca: the pantry pasta of Rome and Naples, with olives, capers and chilli
Few pastas come together so fast from a cupboard: tomatoes, black olives, capers, garlic and chilli simmered for ten minutes into a sauce that is briny, sharp and a little fiery. Naples claims the olive-and-caper version, often made with Gaeta olives, while in Rome cooks melt a few anchovy fillets into the oil first; this recipe follows the Neapolitan line and leaves the fish out, so it is fully vegan. Romans and Neapolitans alike treat it as a late-night or end-of-the-week plate, made when the fridge is bare. Chef's tip: rinse the capers well and add the olives only at the end, so the sauce stays bright and salty rather than bitter.
- Total time
- 25 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Bring 4 litres of water to the boil in a large pot and add 1 tbsp salt. Go lighter than usual, as the capers and olives are salty.
8 minStep 2: Warm 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil in a wide frying pan over a medium-low heat. Add 3 cloves garlic and ½ tsp dried chilli flakes and cook until the garlic is pale gold and smells sweet.
2 minStep 3: Stir in 2 tbsp capers and fry for 30 seconds, until they sizzle and open up a little.
Step 4: Pour in 14 oz tinned whole peeled tomatoes, turn the heat to medium and simmer, stirring now and then, until the sauce has thickened and the oil shows red at the edges. Common mistake: letting the garlic go brown before the tomatoes go in, which makes the whole sauce bitter.
10 minStep 5: Meanwhile, cook 14 oz dried spaghetti in the boiling water until it still has a firm bite, about 1 minute less than the packet says. Keep a mugful of the cooking water.
9 minStep 6: Stir 3 ½ oz black olives and ½ tsp dried oregano into the sauce and warm through for 1 minute.
1 minStep 7: Lift the pasta into the sauce with tongs. Toss over a medium heat for 1 minute with a splash of the cooking water, until the sauce coats every strand and looks glossy.
1 minStep 8: Taste, adding salt only if needed. Serve straight away, scattered with 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 520 kcal
- Protein
- 14 g
- Carbs
- 80 g
- Fat
- 17 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does spaghetti alla puttanesca take?
- About 25 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it very spicy?
- It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
- What can I use instead of dried spaghetti?
- Linguine or any long pasta, same amount.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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