SPAGHETTI ALLA PUTTANESCA
Puttanesca is a great recipe to have in your repertoire because of just how easy it is to put together with flavour-packed ingredients you already have in your pantry.
For the base of the tomato sauce, I’ve opted to use fresh tomatoes which I cut in half and grated. This breaks down the flesh and removes the skin. I used a combination of Roma (zenguli) and beefsteak tomatoes as the base of the sauce. These were ripe and delicious. If you don’t have access to great tasting tomatoes, replace with 800g of canned tomato instead.
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SPAGHETTI ALLA PUTTANESCA
EQUIPMENT
INGREDIENTS
SAUCE
- 45 ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 40 g Anchovy fillets, (12), roughly chopped
- 35 g Garlic Cloves, (6), sliced
- 2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1600 g Tomatoes
- 70 g Black Olives, ,pit removed
- 35 g capers
- 2 Bay leaves
- 1 bunch Basil
PASTA
- 400 g Spaghetti
- 3 LT Water
- 45 g Salt
METHOD
FOR THE SAUCE
- Begin by washing your tomatoes, cutting them in half and grating them on the coarse setting of a box grater.
- Place a pot over medium-low heat and add the olive oil. Add the sliced garlic and chopped anchovy and cook while stirring occasionally for 2-3 minutes or until the garlic is just starting to colour slightly.45 ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 35 g Garlic Cloves, 40 g Anchovy fillets
- Add red pepper flakes, bay leaves and the stem from the bunch of basil. Allow to infuse for 2 minutes before turning up the heat to medium. Add half of the olives and half of the capers and stir to coat.2 tsp red pepper flakes, 70 g Black Olives, 2 Bay leaves, 1 bunch Basil, 35 g capers
- Add the grated tomatoes and stir to combine. Simmer for 20 minutes or until your sauce has is thick and not watery.
- Add the remainder of the olives and capers for the last 5 minutes of cooking and adjust seasoning if necessary. The dish shouldn’t need extra salt.
FOR THE PASTA
- Fill a medium-sized pot with 3 litres of water and place over high heat. When it comes up to a boil, add 45g of salt.
- Add your pasta to the pot and stir gently for 1 minute to ensure the pasta doesn’t stick together.400 g Spaghetti
- Cook according to packet instructions, minus 3 minutes. My spaghetti needed 13 minutes of cooking time, so I cooked it for 10.
- While the pasta is cooking, thinly slice the basil leaves.1 bunch Basil
- After 10 minutes, reserve 250ml of pasta water in a measuring cylinder. Strain the rest of the pasta water from the pasta.
- Add the cooked pasta to a pan containing the puttanesca sauce. Add 150ml of pasta water and cook over medium-high heat while stirring.
- Continue to cook while stirring until the liquid has reduced and the pasta is cooked through. If the pasta isn’t cooked once the liquid is reduced add more pasta water as necessary.
- Add half of the sliced basil leaves to the pasta and stir to combine before serving topped with more basil leaves.
PRO TIPS
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