A bold Southern Italian pasta with tomatoes, garlic, olives, capers, anchovies, and chili. The sauce is intensely savory, salty, slightly spicy, and comes together quickly.
Serves: 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20–25 minutes
Ingredients
- 12 oz / 340 g spaghetti
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 4–6 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste
- 1 can (28 oz / 800 g) whole peeled tomatoes
- ½ cup / 80 g pitted black olives, preferably Gaeta or Kalamata, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp capers, drained
- 2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- Salt, as needed
- Freshly ground black pepper, optional
- ½–1 cup reserved pasta cooking water
Detailed Instructions
1. Prepare the tomatoes.
Pour the whole peeled tomatoes into a bowl and crush them gently with your hands or the back of a wooden spoon. Leave a little texture rather than turning them into a completely smooth purée. Keep all of the juices.
2. Prepare the olives and capers.
Drain the olives and roughly chop or halve them. Drain the capers well. If your capers are packed in salt rather than brine, rinse them thoroughly before using.
Because the olives, capers, and anchovies are all naturally salty, don’t add much salt to the sauce at the beginning. Taste it toward the end instead.
3. Build the flavor base.
Heat the extra-virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat.
Add the thinly sliced garlic and cook for about 30–60 seconds, stirring frequently. The garlic should become fragrant and very lightly golden but shouldn’t brown heavily.
Add the red pepper flakes and stir for another 15–20 seconds.
4. Melt the anchovies into the oil.
Add the finely chopped anchovy fillets to the skillet. Cook them with the garlic for approximately 1–2 minutes, using a wooden spoon to break them apart.
The anchovies will gradually dissolve into the warm olive oil. They aren’t meant to remain as noticeable pieces of fish—they create the deep savory flavor that characterizes a traditional puttanesca sauce.
5. Add the tomatoes.
Carefully pour the crushed tomatoes and their juices into the skillet. Stir thoroughly so the garlic, chili, anchovies, and olive oil are evenly distributed throughout the tomatoes.
Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer.
6. Add the olives and capers.
Stir the chopped olives and drained capers into the tomato sauce.
Reduce the heat to medium-low and let everything simmer uncovered for about 15–20 minutes. Stir occasionally, allowing the tomatoes to break down and the sauce to reduce slightly.
You’re looking for a sauce that remains loose enough to coat spaghetti but has enough body that it doesn’t taste watery.
7. Cook the spaghetti.
While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Salt the water, but slightly less generously than you would for other pasta dishes because the sauce already contains several salty ingredients.
Add the spaghetti and stir immediately to prevent the strands from sticking together.
Cook until al dente, preferably removing it from the water about 1 minute before the package’s full cooking time.
8. Reserve some pasta water.
Before draining the spaghetti, scoop out approximately 1 cup of the starchy cooking water.
Drain the spaghetti without rinsing it. Rinsing removes the surface starch that helps the sauce cling to the pasta.
9. Finish the spaghetti in the puttanesca sauce.
Transfer the drained spaghetti directly into the skillet containing the sauce.
Add a small splash—around ¼ cup—of reserved pasta water and toss vigorously over medium heat for 1–2 minutes.
As you toss, the pasta will finish cooking while absorbing some of the intensely flavored tomato sauce. Add another small splash of pasta water only if the sauce becomes too thick.
10. Add the parsley and adjust the seasoning.
Turn off the heat and add most of the freshly chopped parsley. Toss everything together one final time.
Taste before adding any additional salt. The anchovies, olives, and capers may already provide all the seasoning you need.
11. Serve immediately.
Divide the spaghetti among warm bowls. Spoon any remaining olives, capers, and tomato sauce from the skillet over the top.
Finish with the remaining fresh parsley and, if desired, a light drizzle of good extra-virgin olive oil.
For a more traditional presentation, skip Parmesan. The strong salty and savory flavors of the anchovies, olives, and capers provide plenty of richness on their own. 🇮🇹🍅🫒🍝
