Pasta alla puttanesca is a first course from Neaples (in dialect “aulive e chiappariell”), made with a few simple ingredients: anchovies, black olives from Gaeta, capers, garlic and tomato.
The recipe of the puttanesca sauce is very quick and the sauce is made during the cooking time of the pasta which must be drained al dente and stirred in the tomato sauce. It starts with a sauté to which peeled tomatoes and black olives are added.
When the pasta is ready, it is added to the sauce and served with a handful of chopped parsley.
The origins of this dish and of the name are not certain and accredited: the term "alla puttanesca", however, could indicate a sort of improvised preparation in a famous restaurant on Ischia in the 1950s. Here, one evening, a condiment was created with all the ingredients that were in the pantry,.
A perfect dish for a last minute dinner and that everyone agrees with. Let's discover how to prepare pasta alla puttanesca, the original one!
Category: First Courses
Bring plenty of water to the boil and then salt it. In a pan, prepare a sauce with a base of oil, the peeled garlic cloves, the anchovies, the rinsed and dried capers and the chilli pepper, if you prefer [1].
Cook over low heat to gently melt the anchovies. At that point, add the peeled tomatoes and increase the heat to bring to the boil [2].
Cook the sauce for about 10 minutes, then add the pitted black olives [3].
Boil the spaghetti and drain them al dente [4].
Distribute them directly into the pan with the sauce which, in the meantime, will have arrived at cooking [5].
Toss the spaghetti in the puttanesca sauce adding, if necessary, a few tablespoons of cooking water. Flavor with the chopped parsley and serve immediately [6].
Parsley can be replaced by oregano, both used in the traditional versions of puttanesca sauce. You can give a spicy touch by adding a dried chili pepper to the sauce.
It is advisable to adjust the amount of salt at the end since the sauce could have the right flavor thanks to the addition of anchovies and capers.
How to store puttanesca sauce
The puttanesca sauce can be frozen, once cold, in convenient single-portion trays to be defrosted if necessary to season pasta.
A perfect dish for a last minute dinner and that everyone agrees with.
Copyright © 2023 AlgorithMedia S.r.l. - P.IVA 02353940063 - All rights reserved
of: 
Save
17.6 oz/500 g of spaghetti
28 oz/900 g of peeled tomatoes
to taste extra virgin olive oil
to taste salt
1 chili pepper (optional)
Any doubts or questions?
Share your experience