Pasta Puttanesca ( the Madame's Pasta )

"I would rather have a plate of this over spaghetti any day. In the absence of a tomato sauce... the flavors really stand out. This dish originated in the red light districts of Italy when the ladies of the night needed a quick and cheap meal after a long nights work "at the office.""
 
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photo by Tinkerbell photo by Tinkerbell
photo by Tinkerbell
photo by Anonymous photo by Anonymous
photo by Jb Tyler, TX photo by Jb Tyler, TX
photo by Lorrie in Montreal photo by Lorrie in Montreal
photo by Mamas Kitchen Hope photo by Mamas Kitchen Hope
Ready In:
45mins
Ingredients:
16
Serves:
2
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ingredients

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directions

  • Sauté onions, garlic, and pepper flakes in the olive oil for about two minutes until fragrant.
  • Add tomatoes and half of their juices, sugar, wine, fresh parsley, olives, capers, anchovy paste,(or anchovies)and Italian seasoning.
  • Bring to a boil and simmer about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, and adding more reserved juice if it becomes dry. Break up large chunks of tomatoes but please leave a chunky consistency, we're NOT making spaghetti!
  • While this is simmering, prepare spaghetti until done and drain.
  • Sauce should be ready now so combine pasta and sauce and toss well.
  • Top with parmesan cheese and fresh basil.

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Reviews

  1. Delicious! Left out the anchovies. Came out great! I had to make it twice (won't go into why) once using half red and half white wine and once using all red. I think I liked the combo better than all red. It was a little lighter and brighter. Both versions were great. Thanks for posting.
     
  2. Wow! Great recipe. Very versatile and adaptable too, whatever veggies or meat that is on hand can be used. Made it (the first time) just as stated with the exception that I couldn't find any anchovy paste so I used a small can of anchovies. <br/>Again, great recipe! Thanks for posting.
     
  3. This is the perfect puttanesca. It is just like my own recipe except for the green onions. I used chopped sweet onions. The wine is a great addition. The only thing I do add is some chopped kale. The bitter greens seem to bring out the other flavors and, yes, it is healthier. Don't need an additional vegetable either on the side.<br/>'
     
  4. This was an excellent recipe! We have five grocery stores in my area and not one of them had Anchovy paste! So I used minced ancovies instead. Worked like a charm. Also I increased the olives slightly since I am an olive fan. As for the Anchovies, I can't see this recipe without them! This recipe will likely be a staple in my home! Thanks for sharing!
     
  5. Nov 20, 2007 - Delish! I had chicken that needed to be eaten before we leave in the morning for the holiday, so I shredded it, added extra wine to the sauce & heated it through. Everyone had seconds! Thanks for posting! UPDATE: Oct 20, 2009 - I've made this recipe so many times! My teenage DS actually requests it often & it's my go-to recipe when I forget to thaw some meat. I never realized that I didn't photograph it the first time I made it, which turns out to be longer ago than I thought! :) So, basically I've gotten lazy over the years & quit mincing the olives & just slicing them. I've used all kinds of green olives from garlic stuffed to jalapeno stuffed. Last night I didn't have green onions, so had to sub white onion. I keep capers on hand for just this recipe. Thanks again for sharing it, Potsie! :)
     
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Tweaks

  1. I made this last night & was really excited about it. I used ~1/8 cup olive oil, & minced some extra garlic. I used 3 fresh tomatoes (cut into wedges & then cut in only once each) instead of canned. I used kalamata olives instead of black olives b/c 1) it was all I had, & 2) I had read that in another review, & I threw in some whole green olives in addition to the chopped ones. I also sauted some (boneless, skinless) chicken breasts (patted dry & seasoned w/ salt & pepper) in a separate pan while the sauce was simmering & added it to the sauce after it was cooked through. I left it in the sauce for just a few minutes while I cooked the spaghetti. As I said b/f, I was sooo excited about this dishI grated fresh parmesan cheese on the top & took my first bite & it was too spicy for me. :) Delicious, but too hot. I still award it 5 stars b/c I think that it IS a delicious recipe, & the fact that I added the full 1 tsp of red pepper flakes when I KNOW that neither I nor my BF are very tolerant of hot/spicy foods well that is my own fault. Next time I will add only the amount (or less) of red pepper flakes, & I think that will make it perfect. Thank you for posting!
     
  2. This is one of my favorite pasta dishes. I substitute 4 T olive tapenade for the anchovy paste and minced olives to make this vegetarian. Then I toss a few whole olives on top.
     
  3. Very good! My whole family (including my 4 year old) loved it. The only things I did differently were to add all basil instead of parsely, and I had no anchovy or oyster sauce on hand. So I skipped that and added a little extra red wine. Thanks!
     
  4. Wow! This was really good. I made the recipe exactly as written, except I used minced anchovies instead of anchovy paste. Loved it!
     
  5. Please know that a4 star review from my fussy fanatic Pasta passionate DH is worth about 7 stars anywhere else...I made this for him and he did the rating. He even went so far to say "this is good"... and since comments like "it's ok.. it could do with more (X,Y,Z)" are his more usual pronouncments, I think that you can consider that this recipe found favour and be very pleased indeed. He didn't even comment on the red wine, which he usually doesn't like in cooking... that means that the wine wasn't overpowering and the rest of the flavours must have been well balanced. Since I made just one portion, I uded fresh tomatoes instead of canned, like Kumquat I also added less olive oil, and I added more capers since DH adores them (ugh,they are ALL his) Please see my rating system, you have achieved a 4 star rating with DH who puts pasta dishes to the toughest tests.. this one has passed muster :) Thanks !
     

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Peace, peeps!
 
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