Pasta Puttanesca
This is one of those "back pocket" recipes where all the ingredients are easy to keep on hand so you're prepared for a quick and delicious dinner with almost no planning required. You can also make this vegitarian by omitting the sausage and anchovy paste. #QuickRecipesForBusyWriters, #30MinuteMeals
Ingredients
- 1 pound Bucatina Pasta or pasta of your choice
- 1 pound Italian Sausage or Gourmet Sausage Flavor
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 5 cloves minced garlic
- 1 tbsp anchovy paste optional
- 1 can crushed tomato (14.5 ounces)
- 1 can diced tomatoes in sauce (14.5 ounces)
- 1 tbsp oregano, dried
- 1/2 cup Kalamata Olives, pitted
- 1/3 cup pepperocini, sliced Italian Hot Pepper
- 3 tbsp capers
- 1 tbsp parsley, dried
- 1/4 cup parmesan, grated
Instructions
- Set pot of water for pasta on stove to boil.
- While water is heating, gather all ingredients.
- If using, slice sausage into chunks about 1" thick. Add 1 tbsp olive oil to saute pan, preheat, then add sausage. Cook until sausage is cooked through.
- If necessary, slice pepperoncini (1/3 cup) and Kalamata Olives (1/2 cup) while sausage is cooking.
- Remove sausage and drain the pan, but no need to clean pan. Add 1 tbsp olive oil, garlic (5 cloves minced), red pepper flakes (1/2 tsp or to taste), and anchovy paste (1 tbsp - if using). Stir until garlic is lightly browned, about 1 minute.
- At this point your water is probably boiling. Add pasta to water and cook according to package instructions (about 8-9 minutes for buccatini).
- Add tomatoes (2 cans) and oregano (1 Tbsp). Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.
- Add olives (1/2 cup), pepperoncini (1/3 cup) and capers (3 Tbsp). Stir and let simmer 1 minute
- When pasta is done, retain 1/3 cup of the pasta water.
- Drain pasta and add to the simmering sauce. Add pasta water 1 Tbsp at a time, as needed, to thin the sauce.
- Season with salt and pepper as needed
- Top each serving with parsley and grated parmesan. Enjoy!
- If you'd like to serve this with garlic bread, try this Garlic Bread Fantastic from Allrecipes.
- visit www.jennylangauthor.com for more recipes and news about my upcoming book.