Scrambled Eggs, Cheese, and Avocado Tortilla Bowl Recipe
September 16, 2025
Spaghetti alla Puttanesca Recipe
Spaghetti alla Puttanesca is a conventional Italian pasta from Naples that’s fast to place collectively from pantry staples. When you’ve got canned tomatoes, garlic, olives, anchovies and capers in your cabinet, you may knock out this straightforward however flavourful sauce in a flash. It’s a stellar emergency meal everybody ought to know, with a “saucy” backstory of its personal!
There are numerous vibrant tales explaining how this dish got here to be, and the way Puttanesca pasta received its identify. “Puttanesca” roughly interprets to “working ladies” in Italian (that’s a politically appropriate time period I’m utilizing there!) One story tells how this dish was invented within the brothels of Naples so the smells wafting from the kitchen would entice potential … errr, purchasers. One other story claims this pasta was a fast and easy dish girls of the Neapolitan evening might throw collectively in a rush in amongst their busy schedules.
Does this type of speak on a G-rated meals weblog make you blush? 😉
Regardless of the origins, at the moment that is thought of a basic and staple Italian pasta recipe. It’s budget-friendly, straightforward and fast to make, but scrumptious sufficient to woo household and mates (or certainly, “paying clients” … 😉)
Being such easy recipe, that is a kind of dishes that genuinely advantages from higher high quality components. On this pasta, the one ingredient I discover is de facto value in search of out is recent deli-style olives in olive oil or brine, fairly than cheaper jarred ones you discover on grocery store cabinets.
Oh, additionally, anchovies – the key “why is this straightforward sauce so good?” ingredient. When you skip it, the sauce isn’t fairly pretty much as good! Nonetheless you may depart it out in the event you want to make the dish vegetarian / vegan (add just a little extra garlic, capers and olives as an alternative).
-
Black olives – Attempt to use good high quality, recent olives from the deli. These are available both olive oil or brine and can add extra flavour into the sauce because it simmers in comparison with bottled ones that are available sealed jars. Each pitted and unpitted are nice however pitting your personal is finest.
-
Anchovies – This provides savoury flavour and salt to the sauce with out leaving it “fishy-tasting”. In reality, you’d should have a extremely attuned palate to have the ability to style it in any respect. The anchovies are finely chopped and dissolve into the sauce, and any robust fishiness disappears leaving simply deliciously deep umami.
I favor to make use of complete anchovies and finely mince it myself as a result of it has higher flavour than utilizing anchovy paste. However paste is a useful different – my rule of thumb is 1/4 teaspoon of paste per anchovy (so use 3/4 teaspoon on this recipe).
-
Spaghetti – Historically made with spaghetti or vermicelli pasta (ie. the thinner spaghetti), although this recipe works simply nice with any lengthy pasta. Or quick, for that matter!
-
Tomatoes – Not all canned tomatoes are created equal! Higher ones are sweeter and break down higher to create a sauce.
TIP: When you discover your tomatoes are a bit on the bitter facet, simply add a contact of sugar to the sauce. It’s a cheat’s method of taking the bitter edge off that may be a recreation changer with for instance, Spaghetti Bolognese.
-
Capers – Provides little pops of briny goodness and that distinctive caper flavour to the sauce. I often use commonplace measurement capers. Now and again, I discover they are often large in measurement so I’ll attain for the infant capers as an alternative. Each work!
-
Garlic – As a result of that is Italian meals!
-
Chilli flakes (aka pink pepper flakes) – A pinch of warmth is fantastic on this sauce. It’s not a spicy sauce, right here it’s only a background hum of heat.
-
Further virgin olive oil – For cooking and ending.
-
Recent basil and oregano – These ending herb touches will actually raise the dish and return some freshness to the sauce. However in the event you don’t have them, it’s completely nonetheless value making utilizing a pinch of dried oregano. Don’t hassle with dried basil, it’s mainly flavourless.
When you don’t have basil, serve with a sprinkle of parmesan as an alternative. The additional flavour will compensate for absence of recent herb flavour.
Begin the sauce first and get it simmering, then prepare dinner the pasta. They’ll each end on the identical time, able to toss collectively!
This recipe serves 2. Use a medium measurement skillet right here fairly than a really massive one, else the sauce will dry out too rapidly when simmering. When you’re scaling the recipe up nevertheless a big skillet might be essential to toss the pasta within the sauce (or use a pot for the sauce and tossing).
-
Sauté aromatics – Begin off by sautéing the garlic in olive oil till it begins to go golden on the sides. Then add the finely chopped anchovies, capers, olives and pink pepper flakes and prepare dinner for an extra 1 minute.
This sautéing step is vital to the flavour of the sauce. It blooms the flavour of the pink pepper flakes and much more importantly, takes the uncooked fishy edge off the anchovies whereas inflicting them to interrupt down, able to dissolve into the sauce.
-
Add the whole lot else into sauce – Add the can of tomatoes, then add water by rinsing out the can. In goes salt, pepper and recent or dried oregano, then give it stir.
-
Simmer 10 minutes – As soon as the sauce involves a simmer, flip the warmth method right down to low and let it simmer gently, stirring once in a while, for 10 minutes whereas the pasta cooks. The tomato will break down, the water will prepare dinner out, abandoning a pleasant, shiny and thickened sauce.
If at any stage it seems to be just like the sauce is drying out (in all probability attributable to warmth being too robust or utilizing a skillet that’s too massive), simply add a splash of water.
-
Prepare dinner pasta – Prepare dinner the pasta in salted water. Simply earlier than draining, scoop out a mugful of pasta cooking water. This can be a key, important step for cooking any pasta (properly and correctly!). We add a splash into the pasta sauce when tossing with the pasta. Starch that’s left within the cooking water helps emulsify the fat and water within the sauce. This has a thickening impact and in addition discourages the sauce from separating. The sauce clings deliciously to the pasta strands as an alternative of leaving a watery pool of bland liquid on the backside of your pasta bowl.
You’ll see this step in each pasta recipe on my web site. And each family in Italy makes pasta this manner!
-
Mix pasta, sauce and pasta cooking water – After draining the pasta, instantly throw into the sauce together with about 1/4 cup of pasta cooking water. I hardly ever measure, I simply eyeball it.
-
Toss, toss, toss! With the skillet nonetheless on a low range, use 2 wood spoons to toss the pasta vigorously for a minute. After 20 or 30 seconds of tossing, you’ll discover that the sauce within the skillet begins clinging to the pasta (because of the pasta cooking water!).
The pasta is prepared when the sauce is all caught to the pasta fairly than sitting within the skillet.
Sprinkle with basil and serve instantly!
Professional tip: heat your pasta bowls
Pasta is a dish that’s at its very best served sizzling and recent. It’s by no means the identical reheated. It’s also one of many uncommon dishes the place I take some time to heat serving bowls, to protect the warmth of the pasta when consuming. I simply pop them in a 70C / 160F oven to heat earlier than I begin cooking, or within the microwave for a minute earlier than serving. It’s well worth the small effort, particularly in winter!
Parmesan?
Puttanesca is historically not served with the standard bathe of parmesan as a result of it already has loads of salt and savouriness from the flavour-packed components. However I gained’t cease you if that’s the way you need to roll.
Having stated that, if I don’t have recent basil generally I exploit parmesan to compensate as a of completion (no it’s not the identical factor in any respect, however I prefer to have a garnish).
Sides!
In my world, Puttanesca is planted firmly within the “emergency pantry meals” bucket so that you gained’t get a facet salad if I make this for you. It’s additionally technically 95% greens anyway! 😉 Nonetheless, in the event you’re after an excellent fast one which’s on-theme, Rocket with Shaved Parmesan suits the invoice with a facet of sizzling buttery garlic bread or focaccia (I’m very pleased with this recipe, I hope you strive it sooner or later!).
Add a Tiramisu for dessert or Italian Almond cookies with espresso, and immediately this humble “fast pantry dinner” has reworked right into a full blown Italian dinner menu! – Johnsat x
Full your meal
Ingredients
- 200g / 7oz spaghetti , or other long pasta
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil , plus more for drizzling
- 2 garlic cloves , finely minced (knife, not garlic press)
- 3 anchovy fillets , finely minced (Note 1)
- 1/4 cup pitted black olives , preferably in oil, quartered (Note 2)
- 1 tbsp capers , drained (Note 3)
- 1/4 tsp chilli flakes (red pepper flakes)
- 400g / 14oz can crushed tomato (or hand crush whole canned tomatoes)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tsp fresh oregano , roughly chopped (sub 1/4 tsp dried)
- 1/8 tsp kosher / cooking salt (or 2 pinches table salt)
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp sugar , if needed (depends on tomato quality, Note 4)
- 2 tbsp fresh basil , roughly chopped (Note 6)
Instructions
- Prepare: Bring a large pot of water to the boil, ready for the pasta. Warm serving bowls (I microwave 1 minute).
- Cook garlic: Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and cook for 15 seconds until it starts turning golden.
- Cook anchovies: Add anchovies, capers, olives and chilli flakes. Cook for 1 minute.
- Tomato: Add tomato, then add the 1/2 cup of water into the can. Swirl around to rinse then pour into the skillet.
- Simmer: Add oregano, salt and pepper. Stir, bring to simmer, then turn down to low and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes or until the tomato has broken down and created a sauce. Turn off stove when ready if not timed with cooked pasta.
- Cook pasta: Meanwhile, add 2 teaspoons salt into the pot of water. Then add pasta and cook per packet directions.
- Reserve pasta water (Note 5): Just before draining, scoop out a mugful of pasta cooking water and set aside. Then drain pasta in a colander.
- Toss pasta: Immediately add pasta into sauce. Add 1/4 cup of pasta cooking water reserved from previous step (Note 5) then use 2 wooden spoons to toss the pasta, still on a low stove, for 1 minute or until the sauce is no longer in the skillet but rather clinging to the pasta strands (but still slick and slippery). If the pasta gets too dry, add more pasta cooking water and toss.
- Serve: Immediately transfer into warmed bowls. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with basil. Serve immediately!
Notes
1. Anchovies – An essential ingredient in an otherwise simple sauce that adds depth of flavour and salt (but so much more flavour than just plain salt!). Does not make the sauce taste fishy, it dissolves and just adds great savoury flavour. Only people with refined palettes can usually pick that it’s in the sauce!
Substitute with 3/4 to 1 teaspoon of anchovy paste.
2. Olives – Use good ones in oil, they have better flavour than cheap ones in brine (water, no oil). It’s necessary for this otherwise simple sauce because the flavour from the olives leaches into the sauce.
Cutting olives – Many recipes use the olives whole. I can’t figure out why – cutting releases flavour into the sauce which is key!
3. Capers – Normal or baby is fine here. Sometimes the standard capers are unusually large so I opt for baby.
4. Sugar – Better quality tomatoes will be sweeter and smoother. Economical ones can be quite sour, sometimes even with chunks that aren’t even red! Use sugar only if needed, add with the salt (taste tomato, if super sour, use sugar).
5. Pasta cooking water – The starch from cooking the pasta makes the pasta sauce thicken so it clings to every strand of pasta rather than leaving a watery pool of sauce at the bottom of your pasta bowl. Toss well and watch as the sauce magically sticks to the pasta strands!
6. Basil – Lovely fresh finishing touch, but if you don’t have it, just add a sprinkle pf parmesan instead. Obviously a completely different flavour, but brings something else to the dish. Don’t bother with dried basil.
7. Storage – Pasta is always best served immediately! As it sits around, the pasta soaks up the sauce and becomes dry. The sauce can be made ahead a couple of days. Leftovers can be reheated with a sprinkle of water to loosen.
8. Nutrition per serving.
Did You Make This Recipe?
How you went with my recipes? Tag me on Instagram at @PenciDesign.
