Pasta (Almost) Puttanesca
Anchovies.
I’ll let that sink in for a moment. I’ve never given them much thought- neither in the, “gross, ack!” camp, nor the “can’t get enough!” camp. They’re ok. I buy the little tubes of anchovy paste for Caesar salad and maybe to squirt a little into some garlic oil for pasta. That was pretty much the entirety of my anchovy experience. But something possessed me to buy a tin at the store the other day that looked promising, and the opportunity presented itself the other night. So here we are.
The recipe is “almost” Puttanesca because it has pretty much all the elements of classic Puttanesca sauce, except for the olives. I wasn’t really in the mood for olives, I wanted something a little more basic and a simpler flavor, so I left them out.
Now I know lots of people would look at a recipe with this, loaded up with anchovies, and immediately pass it up. I get it. But I’d really encourage you to at least give it a shot. The anchovies definitely don’t hit you over the head or anything, they just add a rich, deep flavor to the sauce that you might not be able to place unless you know they’re in there. (Proof: the little guy had seconds without batting an eyelash.) A hefty helping of capers add the perfect tang and brine and really brighten up the tomatoes.
I will say that I really, really wish that I had some fresh parsley on hand when I made this, because I think a tiny bit of fresh green sprinkled on top of each bowl would have been heavenly. But we definitely weren’t suffering a whole lot without it. However, since this recipe was definitely a keeper for us, I’ll be sure to have some on hand next time. Which will, most likely, be soon.
Pasta (Almost) Puttanesca
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 2 large cloves of garlic
- 1 3.5 oz can of anchovy filets, chopped
- 1 28-oz can whole plum tomatoes
- 2 tbsp capers
- ¼ tsp crushed red pepper
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, but not browned, about 2 minutes. Lower heat as low as it can go and add the anchovies. Break up the anchovies with the back of a wooden spoon, making a sort of paste. Add in the tomatoes, caper, and crushed red pepper. Season generously with salt and pepper.
- Bring the sauce to a simmer again, and let it cook, covered, for about half an hour. Taste again and adjust the seasoning, if needed.
- In the mean time, cook and drain your pasta according to the instructions on the package. Spaghetti or thin spaghetti is ideal for this sauce.
- When both the sauce and pasta are cooked, spoon the sauce over the pasta and serve. Garnish with chopped fresh Italian parsley if you like.