Somebody tell me it’s still winter. Wait, don’t do that. I’m enjoying this spring cleaning just way too much. The more I organize, the more I realize there are other spots in my house that need organizing. I’m spiraling, someone send help PLZZZZ. Wait, don’t do that. I’m perfectly content to spend all my money at MUJI, thank you very much.
When I’m not in IKEA wondering about the functionality of a shelf or throwing out old make-up, I’ve been working. Like, really and truly working so very much. I’m not upset about it in the slightest, since it’s affording me the luxury of tiny little clear bins that hold all my piping tips and colors. Organization is a true investment.
What it’s not affording me is the ability to belabor dinner. It’s been a bagged salad, quick pasta kind of season. Which is why I’m giving you my absolute favorite Pasta in Puttanesca Sauce. Insanely fresh. It hits all the notes we want in a messy bowl of bucatini. (Or spaghetti or corkscrew or that half bag of pasta that’s always in the back of your cupboard).
Please don’t throw up your nose at the anchovy paste. We no longer have the taste of the Ninja Turtles. We allow anchovies into our lives, just in small portions. The smallest of portions. In fact, you won’t even know it’s there. You’ll just be happy about the slight taste of umami that is greatly missing in a meatless sauce like this.
Puttanesca sauce is packed with briny olives and tart capers and we are generous when it comes to amount of Italian flat leaf parsley. Like I said: FRESH.
Tips for Puttanesca Sauce
- Anchovy Paste is super simple and the easiest for this recipe. However, you can just chop up some anchovies yourself if that’s all you can find in the store.
- I love Castelvetrano olives for this recipe. However, black olives are more traditional and will work great.
- Canned whole, diced or crushed tomatoes are fine for this sauce. If you use the canned whole tomatoes, dump them in a separate bowl and squeeze each tomato before adding it to the sauce.
- Speaking of canned tomatoes, I very much prefer San Marzano. Simply superior.
- I’d say it’s traditional to serve it with spaghetti but I like it with bucatini. As I said, it’s really great with whatever pasta you have on hand.
- Please don’t skip the sugar. It’s absolutely paramount in a tomato forward sauce like this to balance out the acidity.
Pasta in Puttanesca Sauce
The tastiest, back-pocket pasta sauce.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 Servings 1x
Ingredients
1 package of pasta (I used bucatini)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup capers
1/2 cup chopped green olives
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 teaspoon anchovy paste
2 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
1/3 cup Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped
Instructions
Place a large dutch oven or saucepan over medium/high heat. Once the pot has heated, add in the olive oil, capers, green olives, garlic slices, anchovy paste, tomato paste, sugar and salt. Mix together until well combined. Add in the crushed tomatoes, mix to combined, and bring up to a slow simmer.
Cook pasta to package directions and add to the puttanesca sauce. Reserve some pasta water to thin out the sauce as needed.
Toss with parsley before serving.
Easy to make and the flavor was absolutely wonderful. I have made all my own sauces for close to 50 years and several versions of Puttanesca sauce. With all the cooking shows and web sites the more complex sauces have become fashionable. My grandparents on both sides immigrated from Sicily back when almost half of Sicily headed to the US and Canada. They brought with them the belief that a meal was the way to keep the family together and that old world traditions were what they knew and what they believed in. And they were right. This recipe was an example of simple ingredients that created an old world flavor and not only was it satisfying but brought back many good memories of Saturday and Sunday meals that kept us together for many decades.
★★★★★
Mike, this comment has made my day. What a complete honor it is for you to make this recipe and take the time for such a thoughtful comment. I don’t think you know how appreciative I am. Thank you thank you!
Karlee
This recipe was so good!! I only had whole anchovies so I chopped them up, and added a pinch of crushed red pepper. Delicious!!
★★★★★
Oh. my gosh, YES! all about some whole chopped anchovies! YUMMY! Thanks, Sam!