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Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Weekend Kitchen: Pasta Puttanesca


Another day, another pasta.  What can I say...pasta is my love language.  I love to cook on the weekends when I have more time to spend cooking, and I'd say 95% of the time, I choose a new pasta to try.  

This recipe comes from the May 2011 issue of Cooking Light {Yikes, I've been holding on to this one for a while...}.  I adapted it, slightly.


Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups canned, peeled tomatoes in juice
-  2 oz. tin of anchovy fillets
- 3/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley, plus more for garnish if desired
- 1 tablespoon drained capers
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 8 ounces uncooked fettuccine or linguine
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese


1.  Bring six cups of water to a boil

2.  Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Add 2 tablespoons oil to pan. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add anchovies; mash in pan to form a paste. Stir in tomatoes and next 4 ingredients (through pepper); cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3.  When water has boiled, add pasta to water and cook until almost al dente.  When draining pasta, reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water.  Add pasta and reserved water to tomato mixture; increasing heat to medium-high.  Cook five minutes or until pasta is al dente, tossing to combine.

4.  Divide pasta among four plates and top each with a drizzle of olive oil, cheese, and if desired, additional parsley.  Dig in and enjoy!





The olives, capers, and anchovies make this pasta incredibly flavorful - I loved it.  If you think you don't like anchovies, or are not interested in cooking with them, I'd recommend that you give them a try.  The flavor they add is so unique and delicious.  The fillets melt right into the oil you would never even know they were in the dish - other than the great, bold flavor!


The story of how this pasta got it's name is an interesting one - read about it here.

5 comments:

  1. This looks delicious and has me ready for lunch..!! :) Great photography as always.

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  2. I'm a pasta girl, too. We're having Yakisoba noodles tonight and ravioli is on the menu for later this week. I'm also making minestrone one night that has tortellini in it. So yeah, this is my jam.

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  3. Puttanesca is a dish I make all the time. Love it. How have you been? Saw you leave a comment on Inspired By Charm.

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  4. I love this stuff! And when I use Tinkyada Gluten-free pasta, it even sits so much better in my stomach than wheat-derived pasta. Love kalamata olives. Pinning this! I think you'll like the chicken stirfry with pesto recipe I have on my blog today. These are delicious recipes!

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