Spaghetti alla Puttanesca

Making Spaghetti alla Puttanesca Ahead

The sauce keeps 4 days refrigerated and freezes 3 months.

Making Spaghetti alla Puttanesca

Tap a step to highlight it, or turn on Cook Mode for large type and step-by-step focus.

1. Put the olive oil and anchovies in a cold wide pan and set it over a low heat.

   Mark done

2. Cook 3 minutes, pressing the anchovies with a wooden spoon until they dissolve completely into the oil.

   Mark done

3. Add the garlic and chilli flakes and cook 90 seconds, until the garlic is pale gold.

   Mark done

4. Add the olives and capers and cook 1 minute.

   Mark done

5. Stir in the tomato purée, then the tinned tomatoes.

   Mark done

6. Simmer briskly for 15 minutes, until the sauce thickens and darkens.

   Mark done Start 15 min timer

7. Meanwhile boil the spaghetti in well-salted water until al dente, reserving a mugful of the water.

   Mark done

8. Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce with 4 tbsp of the cooking water.

   Mark done

9. Toss over the heat for 1 minute, until the sauce clings.

   Mark done Start 1 min timer

10. Stir in the parsley and pepper, taste for salt, and serve.

    Mark done

Something wrong or unclear in this recipe? Report a problem with this recipe.

A Few Pointers

• Start the anchovies in cold oil so they melt rather than fry.
• No salt until the end.
• Toss the pasta in the sauce, never sauce on top.

Some Background

Melt the anchovies into the warm oil until they disappear completely — two or three minutes over a low heat, pressing them with a spoon. Left as pieces they are salty lumps that people pick out; dissolved, they are invisible and the sauce simply tastes deeper. Do not add salt until the very end: anchovies, olives and capers between them usually make it unnecessary.

Serving Ideas

A green salad · Crusty bread · A robust red

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Creamy Parmesan Polenta, Cauliflower Risotto, Ciabatta.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.

Nutrition per Serving

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. Sodium is not given, because the salt for the cooking water is in the ingredient list but most of it is poured away with the water, so no figure from the list would be honest. How the figures are worked out.

Your notes on this recipe

Cooked this? Keep a note for next time

Your own rating out of 5

5 stars★ 4 stars★ 3 stars★ 2 stars★ 1 star★

Your note

Save note

Private to you: notes and ratings are saved in this browser only, are never sent anywhere, and other readers cannot see them.