Tomatoes, capers, olives, and anchovies come together quickly in this easy-ish recipe for Puttanesca. Because it’s so delicious fresh yet reheats well, it’s become one of my go-to, everyday pastas.
Do all your prep and have everything measured or out and ready-to-be-measured before you start cooking.
Ingredients
Salt to taste
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
3 or more cloves garlic, grated
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 slightly generous cup pitted black (perhaps oil-cured) or Kalamata olives
1 Tbs capers
4-6 anchovy fillets
4 small Roma tomatoes, 2 of them quartered and 2 of them eighthed
6 large cherry tomatoes
1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce (see notes)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup water
1 lb. spaghetti, linguine, or other long pasta
Chopped fresh parsley, oregano, marjoram and/or basil leaves for garnish
Directions
- Bring a pot of water to boil and salt it. Cook pasta according to package directions, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Meanwhile, start in on the sauce.
- Place 3 Tablespoons oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a cold skillet. Warm it over medium-low heat (setting 3 out of 9). Let it begin to sizzle for 1 minute, then add olives, capers, and anchovies. Cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic is lightly golden, about 2 minutes.
- Add tomatoes to skillet, with salt (perhaps 1/2-tsp, see notes) and pepper (perhaps 1/4-tsp). Raise heat to medium-high (setting 5) and cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes soften, about 3 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and continue to cook until you can drag a spatula through the sauce and leave a dry swath that slowly fills in, 5 minutes more. Add water; lower to a simmer.
- Drain the pasta, saving some of the cooking liquid. Add the pasta to the sauce, and then add 1/4-cup of the cooking liquid. Toss the pasta in the sauce. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. Off heat, toss herbs into the pasta or use them to garnish individual servings. Drizzle the remaining tablespoon of oil over the pasta. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Before adding salt to the tomatoes, taste the tomato sauce. If you’re using a pre-seasoned sauce, it may not need much if any salt. In that case, go easy; you can make adjustments later.
- A medium (15 oz.) can of tomato sauce will leave you with pasta that is lightly coated in sauce. This is an especially good idea if you have fantastic (freshly made, perhaps) pasta. If you want your pasta to be swimming in sauce, use a large (28 oz.) can. You’ll need to adjust the seasonings, but not as much as you might think. If you do this, I recommend that you finish the sauce with the called-for 15 ounces of tomato sauce, add the remaining sauce at the very end, and adjust.
Social Learning
I used a can of sauce that already had Italian seasoning built in, but I don’t think the recipe depends on this. If you use a can of unseasoned tomato sauce, the success of the dish will depend more squarely on the fresh herbs.
Don’t fear the anchovies, and don’t omit them. They’ll break down into the sauce, so you’ll never notice them texturally, but their flavor will become an important background component to the sauce.
The sauce comes together so quickly that if you start in on it as soon as you’ve lit a fire under the pasta water, the pasta will finish cooking just about exactly when you’re ready for it. So that makes this a pretty quick dish. If you did all the prep in advance, you could crank this out in what might seem like a blink.
The name “Puttanesca,” you might want to know, has a very colorful origin, even if no one agrees on exactly how it works.
The Backstory
Very satisfying. Very homey.
An Instagram post by Cucina con Ruben inspired me to make this dish. I admire his appealingly creative schtick: calling out to his neighbors and cooking for them on his balcony. But more than that, I love what he cooks! Every single dish looks fantastic. And it also all looks very approachable. I consulted a few Puttanesca few recipes, but mainly built mine by watching Ruben. “Watching,” because I don’t speak Italian. By the way, if you do, and if you can tell me what those green stalks are that he adds early on (they look too thick to be chives … are they the stalks from green onions?) I’d greatly appreciate it!
Puttanesca
Credit for images on this page: Make It Like a Man! unless otherwise credited. This content was not solicited by anyone, nor was it written in exchange for anything. Thank you, Kesor. References: Food & Wine, NYT. Make It Like a Man! is ranked by Feedspot as #15 in the Top 30 Men’s Cooking Blogs.
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This looks very similar to the recipe I use, which is a Nigella one. I wish people weren’t scared of anchovies. They’re so good, and this is a perfect way to taste what they add. This is probably my favorite pasta if I was forced to choose. There’s also a Trapanese raw sauce that is incredible.
Chef Mimi recently posted…Calabrian Carbonara
Ooh! I’ll have to look that up!
You make the most delicious looking/sounding dishes. Thank you for sharing this and the instagram post. I have already started following. I don’t speak Italian and I can’t tell if it is green onions or thin asparagus. I would guess green onions.
Thank you!
Haven’t had puttanesca in ages! I always like mine with extra black olives 🙂
angiesrecipes recently posted…Wild Yeast Ciabatta using Yeast Water and Bassinage Method
Yum!
I make variations of this when Im using up ingredients to go with pasta, but I’ve never eaten Puttanesca so this is a revelation to me. It looks so delicious Jeff. Love leaning about new dishes. Thanks so much.
Pauline McNee recently posted…Thai Chicken Risotto
Thank you, Pauline!
This looks and sounds delicious. I think I could make this fit keto using a pasta substitute. It would not be as good as the real thing, but I am willing to give it a try!
Anne recently posted…Unplanning Plans
Thanks, Anne!
Puttanesca is a classic, Jeff – and you’ve nailed it here! Plus, there is a great story behind this recipe in terms of where you discovered it. And at the end of the day, the story behind food (much like the story behind a good bottle of bourbon) is almost as important as the food itself. Almost. Well done, sir!
David @ Spiced recently posted…Buttermilk Pound Cake
Also, ask Frank (Memorie di Angelina) to translate for you!
David @ Spiced recently posted…Buttermilk Pound Cake
Oh, great idea. Thanks!
Thanks, David!
I love this dish! And you MUST use anchovies — they make the dish. Yours looks terrific — thanks.
John+/+Kitchen+Riffs recently posted…The Barbotage Cocktail
Thank you, John.
I was never a fan of anchovies, but after tasting my first puttanesca, I made an exception. I’ve never made it, but I would never turn it down. Yours looks quite tasty. I do agree with you that the secret to a good Italian red sauce like this are the herbs. One can never over season with herbs. 🙂
mjskitchen recently posted…Tomato Confit Risotto
You can say that again!
Well done Jeff. This is a great dish and you’ve presented it well.
I fell in love with the slut pasta dish years ago when I watched Nigella make it in a Nigella’s Kitchen episode. I think that’s also when I became a huge fan of hers as well. If you’ve not seen it, I found the episode on youtube. https://youtu.be/kYLuqhXdW_c
Take care…
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Thanks, Ron – and thanks for the link!
Mark and I love puttanesca sauce. It’s one of those things we make on the spur of the moment and we have no idea what we want for dinner. This always works! (Maybe we were hookers in a past life?) Will definitely try your recipe. We both like lighter sauces, so the 15-ounce can will work for us. Is that spaghetti I see on your plate? How did that go over in the house?
Thanks, David – and yes, that is spaghetti … although it was some special, “ribbed” spaghetti that’s supposed to help sauce cling to it. But in any case, yes … spaghetti. I had to explain to my husband that I felt it was crucial to the Puttanesca in at least photographing the recipe, and promised him that I’d use another shape in future versions. But he scarfed it up, calling out “Puttanesca” from across the room, kind of like in the video. Maybe that was enough of a distraction … or maybe spaghetti DOES taste just like other pastas!!!
Tra i miei condimenti preferiti!!!
Thank you!
Fresh, fast and easy! Absolutely love it! And so colourful, I can certainly see why this has become your go-to week night pasta dish. Could the greens be garlic scapes? I’m going to start following Ruben, thanks for the tip.
Éva Taylor recently posted…Fried Cheese Tortellini
I’ve never even heard of garlic scapes! How interesting! And thanks!
Puttanesca is one of the best combinations of ingredients ever. And I always love a generous amount of olive oil in it, and I promise to never omit anchovies! Such a comforting sauce with pasta. 🙂 ~Valentina
Thanks, Valentina!
I haven’t had pasta Puttanesca in a very long time, now I’m craving it, Jeff. I made it once and my kids didn’t like it (such little party poopers lol) It’s been a few years since then and their tastes have evolved now that they are a bit bigger. I have to make this for them and try again!! I know for sure I will enjoy it, fingers crossed that now they will too!