Spaghetti alla Puttanesca

Name: Spaghetti alla Puttanesca
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 25 min
Cuisine: Italy
Ingredients: 400 g (14 oz) spaghetti; 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil; 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced; 6 anchovy fillets in oil, drained; ½ tsp dried chili flakes; 1 can (28 oz) whole peeled tomatoes, 800 g, crushed by hand; 100 g (⅔ cup) black olives, Kalamata or Gaeta, pitted and halved; 2 tbsp capers, rinsed; 1 tsp dried oregano; 15 g (½ cup) flat-leaf parsley, chopped; 30 g (1½ tbsp) fine sea salt, for the pasta water

Tomatoes, olives, capers and anchovy — a loud, salty pantry sauce

Serves: 4
Hands-on: 20 min
Total: 25 min
Level: Easy

Puttanesca is built entirely from the cupboard and tastes like the Mediterranean in fifteen minutes. Melting the anchovies into the oil gives savory depth without fishiness, and adding the olives and capers late keeps them bright.

Ingredients

400 gspaghetti (14 oz)
4 tbspextra-virgin olive oil
4 clovesgarlicthinly sliced
6anchovy fillets in oildrained
½ tspdried chili flakes
1 canwhole peeled tomatoes (28 oz)800 g, crushed by hand
100 gblack olives (⅔ cup)Kalamata or Gaeta, pitted and halved
2 tbspcapersrinsed
1 tspdried oregano
15 gflat-leaf parsley (½ cup)chopped
30 gfine sea salt (1½ tbsp)for the pasta water

Diet: Dairy-free, Pescatarian
Allergens: gluten, fish
Origin: Italy (Campania)

Method

Bring 4 L (4 qt) water to a boil with 30 g (1½ tbsp) salt — a little less than usual because the sauce is salty.
Warm the oil, garlic, anchovies and chili in a wide pan over medium-low heat, pressing the anchovies with a spoon until they melt and the garlic is pale gold, 3–4 minutes. 4 min
Add the tomatoes and oregano and simmer briskly until thickened, 10–12 minutes. 12 min
Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti until 1 minute short of the packet time. 9 min
Stir the olives and capers into the sauce and simmer 2 minutes. Taste; it will rarely need salt. 2 min
Lift the pasta into the sauce with a splash of pasta water and toss over high heat for 1 minute until coated. Toss in the parsley and serve.

Why it works

Anchovies dissolve completely in warm oil and add a deep savoriness (glutamates) that reads as 'richer tomato', not fish. Olives and capers go in late because long cooking makes them muddy and bitter.

Common mistakes

Salting the sauce before tasting: between anchovy, olives and capers it is often salty enough.

Variations

Tuna puttanesca: Flake in a 160 g can of good oil-packed tuna with the olives.
Vegan: Leave out the anchovies and add 1 tbsp extra capers and 1 tsp miso to the oil.