Easy, quick, delicious, decently healthy… these were the words running through my head as I searched for a recipe to cook for dinner on Monday night. As I racked my brain and browsed a few websites, I just couldn’t find what I wanted!! I hate eating the same thing too often (even our favourite dishes we’ll rarely have more than once every two months).
I grabbed Jamie Oliver’s Meals in Minutes (One of my Christmas gifts!) and looked at the pasta. He had a recipe for Spaghetti Puttanesca, but frankly, his recipe was more work then I was looking for. I then saw David Rocco’s Dolce Vita on the shelf. PERFECT! A simple, delicious, home-cooked meal.
This recipe is fantastic because it uses mostly pantry ingredients– things you can keep on hand to have a simple meal in a flash. I used anchovy paste because I don’t really have a need for a whole can of anchovies in my fridge. The anchovy paste comes in a tube– you can squeeze it out as you need it, and it dissolves in the sauce. I don’t think it tastes fishy AT ALL… The recipes I sourced for puttanesca used spaghetti, but I prefer a thicker noodle, so I used linguine. I forgot to buy fresh parsley, so I just omitted it, but it would add a great bit of colour and fresh flavour to finish the dish! Jamie Oliver uses a can of tuna in oil in his puttanesca sauce- I think I’ll try that next time for a little extra protein and to satisfy my carnivorous husband!
Pasta Alla Puttanesca
Recipe adapted from David Rocco’s Dolce Vita
Serves 4
3/4 lb linguine
4 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
Crushed red chili pepper flakes, to taste
1 Tbsp anchovy paste
2 Tbsp capers, drained
16 black olives, pitted, chopped a bit
1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
1-14 oz can diced tomatoes,
Salt, to taste
Fresh parsley, finely chopped
Cook the pasta in boiling water. The pasta takes longer than the sauce!
Put a saucepan over medium heat and add the olive oil. Put in the garlic, crushed red chilies, anchovy paste, capers, olives and walnuts. Cook gently until the garlic is lightly browned.
Pour in the can of tomatoes. Let the sauce cook until it is thickened a bit– you don’t want it to be too runny. Add some salt to taste. When the pasta is finished, drain it and save a bit of the cooking water in case you need to loosen up the sauce. Add the pasta to the sauce with some of the cooking water if necessary. Let the whole thing cook for a minute or two, until the sauce is thickened!
Enjoy!
The Hungry Teacher
