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Penne Puttanesca

August 12, 2020 by Lucy Parissi 2 Comments

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Speedy Pasta Puttanesca – this Italian dish is simply PACKED with flavour and on the table in just 25 minutes! This delicious puttanesca sauce with tomatoes, olives, capers and herbs is perfect for spicing up your weekday meals. 

Looking for more Italian recipes? Give my Spaghetti Carbonara a go!

Post may contain affiliate links. For more information, check my disclosure

Bowl of pasta puttanesca with shavings of Parmesan and chopped parsley

This post is in collaboration with Hello Fresh

If you love tasty, healthy and EASY pasta dishes then you must add this Puttanesca recipe to your family meals.

All you need is a handful of store cupboard ingredients and an authentic Italian marvel can be on your table. What more can you ask for?

CHEEKY PASTA PUTTANESCA

Like many Italian recipes, this one comes with a spicy little backstory 🙂 Legend has it that this dish was invented in Naples by Sandro Petti when a group of hungry customers demanded a meal just as he was closing up.

The dish is also known as ‘aulive and chiapparielle’ (olives and capers pasta) – while regional variations have also added salted anchovies for even more flavour! Anchovy pasta? Yes, believe me, it is AMAZING.

You can use chopped anchovies or anchovy paste in this recipe – don’t worry, it will NOT make your sauce taste “fishy”, but it DOES add tons of salty goodness and flavour! 

Close up on pan of Penne Puttanesca with olives, capers and anchovies

HOW DO YOU MAKE PASTA PUTTANESCA?

I am using a recipe from Hello Fresh as the basis for my puttanesca recipe. Hello Fresh is such a great way to discover amazing new dishes – just take a look at their most popular recipes!

All you have to do is simply select your recipes and how many servings you need and you will be sent a box with fresh quality ingredients all measured out. Easy peasy!

Puttanesca sauce starts with onions and red chili flakes, sauteed in olive oil until softened. 

sweating onions and chilli flakes in olive oil

Plenty of minced garlic, anchovies, olives and capers get added into the sauce along with tinned tomatoes and the sauce simmers until thickened. 

Olives, capers, anchovies, onions cooked in a pan for puttanesca sauce

I like to add a little of the pasta cooking water to my puttanesca sauce – it makes it silkier thank yummier thanks to the starch from the pasta.

puttanesca sauce cooking in a shallow casserole

Toss in your favourite pasta – cooked till al dente – until it is well coated in the sauce.

Tossing cooked penne in tomato olive and caper sauce

Garnish with plenty of chopped parsley and a little grated Pecorino or Parmesan and you have an amazing meal in about 20 minutes! Serve with a green salad and some crusty bread (try my No Knead Bread)!

THE PERFECT PUTTANESCA SAUCE

  • Use good quality tinned tomatoes for this recipe – Italian if you can find them. Add a pinch of sugar if the tomatoes are very acidic.
  • Gaeta olives are used in authentic Puttanesca recipes, but really any type of olives will do just as well. 
  • Mini capers (also known as Non Pareilles) are perfect for this recipe. 
  • You can use any type of pasta for this recipe – Spaghetti Puttanesca is most common, here I have used wholemeal penne for some added fibre. Linguine and Angel Hair pasta are also delicious!
  • Season your sauce at the end – since the olives, capers and anchovies are all quite salty you might not need to add any additional salt!

PUTTANESCA VARIATIONS

  • Take a look at my Chicken Puttanesca served with zoodles for a low carb version.
  • Vegetarian Puttanesca: simply leave out the anchovies (and cheese for a vegan version).
  • Add sliced chicken, prawns etc for some extra protein, if you like.

HAVE YOU MADE MY PUTTANESCA RECIPE? Post a photo on my Facebook page, share it on Instagram, or save it to Pinterest with the tag #supergoldenbakes and make my day!

Speedy Pasta Puttanesca

Lucy Parissi | Supergolden Bakes
Speedy Pasta Puttanesca – this Italian pasta dish is simply PACKED with flavour and on the table in 25 minutes! This delicious puttanesca sauce with tomatoes, olives, capers and herbs is perfect for spicing up your weekday meals. 
5 from 5 votes
Print Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: Pasta Puttanesca, Penne Alla Puttanesca, Puttanesca Sauce
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 4
Calories: 439kcal
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Ingredients

  • 340 g (12oz) dried pasta
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 yellow onions , diced
  • 1 tsp dried chilli flakes (or more, to taste)
  • 3 garlic cloves , minced
  • 6 anchovy fillets , finely diced or 1 tbsp anchovy paste (optional)
  • 4 tbsp pitted black olives , sliced
  • 2 tbsp mini capers
  • 400 g (14oz) tin chopped tomatoes
  • 60 ml (1/4 cup) reserved pasta water
  • 2 tbsp fresh parsley , chopped to garnish
  • shavings of Parmesan cheese , to serve
  • salt and freshly ground pepper , to season

Instructions

  • Boil the penne in salted water until al dente and reserve 60ml (¼ cup) of the pasta water before draining. 
  • Meanwhile heat the olive oil in a large pan. Sauté two finely diced onions and a teaspoon of crushed chilli flakes over low heat for five minutes until softened. 
  • Stir in the minced garlic cloves, diced anchovy fillets, diced black olives and capers. 
  • Raise the heat and stir in the chopped tomatoes and reserved pasta water. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring ocassionally, until the sauce has thickened.
  • Stir in the cooked pasta, tossing to coat in the sauce. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if needed.
  • Add the chopped parsley and serve with shavings of Parmesdan and freshly ground pepper.

Video

Notes

  • Use good quality tinned tomatoes for this recipe – Italian if you can find them.
  • Gaeta olives are used in authentic Puttanesca recipes, but really any type of olives will do just as well. 
  • Mini capers (also known as Non Pareilles) are perfect for this recipe. 
  • You can use any type of pasta for this recipe – Spaghetti Puttanesca is most common, here I have used wholemeal penne for some added fibre. Linguine and Angel Hair pasta are also delicious!
  • The sauce and pasta can be stored in the fridge for a couple of days and reheated for a quick lunch.

Nutritional Info

Calories: 439kcal | Carbohydrates: 76g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 406mg | Potassium: 510mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 457IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 81mg | Iron: 3mg
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Comments

  1. Kate - Gluten Free Alchemist says

    August 18, 2020 at 8:43 am

    5 stars
    This looks totally gorgeous Lucy. I adore a tasty vibrant pasta dish and could happily eat the whole pan. Pinned x

    Reply
  2. Nicila says

    August 13, 2020 at 6:39 pm

    5 stars
    Thanks for sharing, this pasta looks lovely, perfect for feeding a crowd 🙂

    Reply

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HEY, NICE TO MEET YOU!

Picture of Lucy ParissiHi, I am Lucy Parissi, the recipe developer, food  photographer and author behind Supergolden Bakes. If you are looking for easy sweet and savoury recipes that are packed with flavour you have come to the right place!  READ MORE

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