Penne Puttanesca
This simple recipe for Penne Puttanesca is an easy Italian pasta recipe with tomatoes, anchovies, black olives and garlic which is ready and on the table in just 20 minutes!
Servings: 2 servings
Ingredients
- 250 g penne
- Flakey salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 4-5 tinned anchovy fillets chopped
- 1 onion finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves crushed
- Handful of black olives roughly chopped
- 1 x 400g tin of cherry tomatoes
- 2 tbsp capers
- Small bunch of fresh basil stems chopped finely and leaves torn
- To serve
- Burrata optional
- Parmesan grated
Instructions
- In a large pan over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and chopped white onion. Fry for 5 minutes and then add the anchovies, no need to chop as they melt into the sauce. Once soft and the anchovies melted away, stir in the garlic, capers, anchovies, and basil stems, chopped. Cook for a further few minutes.
- Meanwhile, boil the pasta in salted water according to package instructions.
- Add the tinned tomatoes and a splash of water, and simmer for 5-7 minutes, until thickened a little.
- Taste and adjust seasoning. Once the pasta is cooked, reserve a mug of pasta water, drain the rest and add to the sauce directly.
- Toss together until a gorgeous sauce forms and coats each pasta. Add splashes of water as needed to make sure it doesn't thicken too much, you want it nice and saucy. Tear in the fresh basil leaves and add a good grating of parmesan.
- Scoop into bowls, top with more parm and burrata if using. Enjoy!
Notes
Scroll up for a step by step guide on how to make Penne Puttanesca.
To store: Transfer to an airtight container and store for 3 days in the fridge.
To reheat: Reheat in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, covered, until piping hot. You could also add to a saucepan over medium heat and stir well until heated through. A little drizzle of olive oil helps bring it all together again.
To freeze: don’t freeze it all mixed together. However, you can freeze the sauce. Make as usual and then transfer to an airtight container to cool. Cover and then freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost when ready to use. Heat on the stove and then stir in freshly cooked pasta.
Penne: You might notice this is linguine and not penne pasta, despite the recipe title. When I went to shoot the recipe, I was all out of penne and the light was fading so it was linguine or nothing! However, the same principles still apply. The sauce is the same and you toss in perfectly al dente pasta. You could use ANY pasta shape you like or any you have on hand.
Pasta water: keep a mug of pasta water when you drain the pasta. This is super important to ensure that the sauce is silky and delicious, as the starch in the pasta water is what brings the sauce together so well.
Salt: there are lots of salty elements to the sauce already (anchovies, capers, olives) so go slowly when seasoning with salt. Taste as you go!
Adding sugar to tomato sauce: if you find the tomato sauce a little sour, add ½ teaspoon of sugar. It helps to balance it out.
Tuna/Mackerel: for extra protein, I sometimes add a jar/tin of tuna or mackerel to the sauce and stir together. It adds a layer of meatiness and works really well with the capers and olives.