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Spaghetti alla puttanesca

Italian

Puttanesca is a useful dinner when the cupboard has more to offer than the fridge. Capers, olives and anchovies season canned tomatoes, and the sauce is ready by the time the spaghetti drains. A small amount of anchovy dissolves into the oil and spreads through the sauce.

Different jars of olives and capers carry different amounts of salt. Rinse salt-packed capers first and wait until the sauce is finished to decide whether it needs any additional salt.

Serving of Spaghetti alla puttanesca; presentation may vary
Serving example of this dish. Ingredients and presentation may vary. Image resized for web. Photo: Popo le Chien · Source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Servings (recipe yield)
4 servings
Prep time
18 min
Cook time
6 min–7 min
Rest / chill / soak
Not provided
Total time
Not provided

Estimated times for this version of the recipe. Equipment, ingredient preparation and batch size can change the timing.

Times from the source where available.

Ingredients

  • Pot of water
  • 320g italian spaghetti
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 10g salted capers
  • 25g anchovies in oil
  • 800g peeled tomatoes "sugo"
  • 1 bunch of parsley
  • 100g Gaeta olives
  • 2 chopped chillies
  • A pinch of salt

Instructions

  1. Rinse the capers, pit and roughly crush the olives, and chop the parsley. Start cooking the spaghetti until just al dente.
  2. Warm a little oil from the anchovies in a large skillet. Add the garlic, chopped chilies, anchovies and capers. Cook over medium heat, stirring until the anchovies break up.
  3. Stir in the tomatoes and simmer about 10 minutes. Remove the whole garlic cloves, then stir in the olives and parsley.
  4. Drain the spaghetti and toss it in the skillet briefly. Taste before adding salt.

Source: Public Domain Recipes · Recipe source · Public-domain source license

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