Spaghetti alla Puttanesca

Tags: #italian #pasta #classic Serving: 4 servings Total time: 30 minutes

A briny, bold tomato pasta with anchovies, capers, and olives that exemplifies southern Italian pantry cooking.

Ingredients

• 320 g spaghetti
• 40 ml extra-virgin olive oil
• 30 g anchovy fillets in oil, drained
• 12 g garlic
• 1 g red chili flakes
• 120 g pitted Gaeta or Kalamata olives
• 25 g capers (salt-packed preferred)
• 400 g canned whole peeled tomatoes
• 10 g flat-leaf parsley
• 10 ml extra-virgin olive oil, for finishing
• 30 g fine sea salt, for pasta water
• 2 g fine sea salt, as needed

Steps

1. Fill a large pot with 3000 ml water.
2. Place the pot over high heat.
3. Cover the pot.
4. Rinse the capers under cold water.
5. Drain the capers in a sieve.
6. Chop the capers roughly.
7. Slice the garlic thinly.
8. Halve the olives.
9. Empty the tomatoes into a bowl.
10. Crush the tomatoes by hand.
11. Chop the parsley finely.
12. Place a wide skillet over medium heat.
13. Pour 40 ml olive oil into the skillet.
14. Add the anchovies to the skillet.
15. Stir the anchovies until they melt into the oil.
16. Add the sliced garlic to the skillet.
17. Stir the garlic until fragrant.
18. Sprinkle the chili flakes into the skillet.
19. Stir the chili for 5 seconds.
20. Add the olives to the skillet.
21. Add the capers to the skillet.
22. Stir the mixture for 30 seconds.
23. Pour the crushed tomatoes into the skillet.
24. Stir the sauce to combine.
25. Reduce the heat to medium-low.
26. Simmer the sauce until slightly thickened.
27. Uncover the pot.
28. Add 30 g fine sea salt to the boiling water.
29. Add the spaghetti to the boiling water.
30. Stir the spaghetti to prevent sticking.
31. Set a timer for 2 minutes less than the package time.
32. Cook the spaghetti at a steady boil.
33. Taste the sauce.
34. Add up to 2 g fine sea salt to the sauce if needed.