Spaghetti Puttanesca (Tomatoes, Olives, Capers and Anchovies)
Inspired by techniques from Serious Eats and NYT Cooking.
A punchy spaghetti sauce built from tomatoes, olives, capers and anchovies, simmered until thick and intensely savoury.
Always check the labels of the products you use.
Method
- 1
Boil the Water Lightly. Bring 3 litres of water to the boil with just 15g salt, a lighter 0.5% since the anchovies, capers and olives bring plenty of salt of their own.
- 2
Build the Base. In the cold pan, combine 3 tbsp of the olive oil with the garlic, anchovies and chilli flakes, then cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, stirring, until the garlic turns lightly golden and the anchovies melt into the oil. Starting cold lets the anchovies dissolve gently into savoury depth rather than frying hard and tasting fishy.
- 3
Add Capers, Olives and Tomatoes. Stir in the capers and olives for 1 minute, then add the crushed tomatoes and simmer for 8-10 minutes until thick and jammy; hold off on any extra salt for now. The capers and olives need only a minute to release their brininess before the tomatoes slowly reduce to a rich, clingy sauce.
- 4
Cook the Spaghetti. Cook the spaghetti in the boiling water for 2 minutes less than the packet time. Cooking it a little short leaves it ready to finish softening directly in the sauce, where it picks up more flavour.
- 5
Finish in the Sauce. Reserve 240ml of the pasta water and drain the spaghetti, then add it to the sauce with 60ml of the water over medium-high heat, tossing for 1-2 minutes until al dente and well coated, adding more water as needed to keep it loose. Finishing the pasta in the sauce lets the starch on its surface thicken the sauce so it clings rather than sitting in a puddle.
- 6
Finish and Taste. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the remaining 1 tbsp of oil and the parsley. Taste before adding any salt, since between the anchovies, capers and olives the dish rarely needs more.
Storage
Keep covered in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze the sauce (without pasta) for up to 3 months. Reheat in a pan over medium heat with a splash of water, stirring until piping hot. Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
EU nutrition claims
- Low saturated fat: 1.4 g saturated fat per 100 g, 4.5% of energy (limits ≤ 1.5 g and ≤ 10%)
- Low sugars: 2.6 g sugars per 100 g (limit ≤ 5 g)
Per 100 g of the finished dish, worked out from the nutrition per serving and the lowest likely cooked weight (about 196 g a serving), so the true values are, if anything, lower. Thresholds from the Annex to EU Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. How we decide
Free sugars
0 g per serving
0 % of the 50 g daily maximum · 0 % of the ideal 25 g
Free sugars under 50 g a day, ideally about 25 g, based on WHO free-sugar guidance (not endorsed by WHO). The share shown is the share of one serving. WHO
Equipment
- large frying pan or sauté pan (30 cm)
- large pot (at least 5 litres)
- colander or tongs
- heatproof mug for pasta water
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 544 kcal |
| Protein | 16.1 g |
| Carbohydrate | 80.6 g |
| of which sugars | 5.1 g |
| of which free sugars | 0 g |
| Fat | 17.6 g |
| of which saturates | 2.7 g |
| Fibre | 5.7 g |
| Salt | 2.13 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
3 g High Protein needs ≥ 5 g (20% of energy)
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
