Pasta Puttanesca
If you’re a glutton for umami like me, then pasta puttanesca is for you.
Using just a handful of flavor-packed pantry staples — anchovies, cured olives, capers — this dish delivers a supremely savory punch, followed by a good kick of heat. It also comes together in less time than it will take you to boil pasta; it doesn’t get much better than that.
In fact, puttanesca is so irresistible that it was originally used by its inventors (or puttanas, as your Italian grandmother might call them) to attract men. Ooouuu-mami, indeed!
Let’s cook!
You’ll need:
1 lb linguine, or any dry pasta
1 large shallot
5 cloves of garlic
6-8 anchovy filets
2-3 tbsp capers, rinsed
1/2 c pitted olives — preferably oil-cured black olives, or Kalamata
3 tbsp tomato paste
28 oz whole peeled tomatoes
1 tsp crushed red pepper, or more to taste
1 bunch fresh parsley
EVOO, fresh-cracked pepper
Makes 4 servings.
Steps:
Put a stock pot full of water on to boil. Meanwhile, thinly slice the shallot, mince garlic and anchovies, and roughly chop pitted olives. Set aside.
Coat the bottom of a large skillet or sauté pan liberally with EVOO, heat over medium. Once hot, add the garlic, shallots, anchovies and crushed red pepper — sauté for ~3 min, stirring occasionally, until the garlic just starts to brown.
Stir in the tomato paste, sauté for 1 min more. Add the whole tomatoes and their juices, chopped olives, and capers. Season with fresh-cracked black pepper.
Bring sauce to a gentle boil, and then reduce heat and simmer for ~10-15 min, using the back of a wooden spoon to roughly break down the tomatoes.
Roll and finely chop a good amount of fresh parsley, about a cup, and set aside.
Cook pasta to al dente instructions. Reserve a cup of the pasta water before draining.
Drain pasta, and toss into the sauce, along with a half-cup of pasta water, the chopped parsley, and a glug of EVOO. Mix with tongs until well-combined, remove from heat.
Serve in bowls, and garnish with extra parsley and crushed red pepper to taste.