Spaghetti alla Puttanesca
A bold, store-cupboard pasta from Naples: tomatoes, garlic, chilli, black olives, capers and anchovies, cooked into a punchy sauce in the time it takes the spaghetti to boil.
About this dish
Puttanesca is a Neapolitan dish built from ingredients most Italian kitchens always have to hand: tinned tomatoes, olives, capers, garlic and chilli. Its colourful name has inspired plenty of stories, but nobody knows its origin for certain. What everyone agrees on is that it is fast, cheap and full of flavour.
In Naples the sauce is usually made without anchovies, relying on Gaeta olives and capers for its salty depth. The version cooked further north in Lazio adds anchovies, which melt into the oil and give the sauce a rounder, savoury base. Both are traditional, so choose the one you prefer.
Because olives, capers and anchovies are all salty, go easy on the salt in the pasta water and taste the sauce before adding any more.
Italian Gourmet note: Rinse the capers if they are packed in salt, and use whole olives you pit yourself. Pre-pitted olives often have less flavour.
Ingredients
Tick off ingredients as you go.
Method
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Step 1
Start the pasta water
Bring a large pan of water to the boil and salt it lightly. The sauce takes about as long as the pasta, so start cooking the spaghetti when the tomatoes go in.
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Step 2
Infuse the oil
Warm the olive oil in a wide frying pan over a low heat. Add the garlic, chilli and anchovies, if using, and cook gently for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring, until the anchovies melt and the garlic is fragrant but not browned.
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Step 3
Add the tomatoes
Crush the tomatoes into the pan with your hands and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened slightly.
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Step 4
Add olives and capers
Stir in the olives and capers and simmer for a further 3 to 4 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
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Step 5
Cook the spaghetti
Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti until 1 minute short of al dente. Keep a mug of the cooking water.
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Step 6
Toss and serve
Transfer the spaghetti to the sauce and toss over the heat for a minute, adding a splash of pasta water, until glossy and well coated. Scatter with parsley and serve.
Cook's tips
Make it vegetarian
Leave out the anchovies for the Neapolitan version. Add an extra spoonful of capers to keep the savoury depth.
Choose good olives
Small, purple-black Gaeta olives are traditional. Kalamata olives are a good substitute.
Keep the garlic pale
Cook the garlic gently. Browned garlic tastes bitter and overpowers the sauce.
No cheese needed
Puttanesca is traditionally served without cheese, as the sauce is already rich and salty.
Storing and reheating
The sauce keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days and freezes well for up to 3 months. Cook the pasta fresh.
Questions about this recipe
Does puttanesca have anchovies?
It depends where you are. The Neapolitan version usually leaves them out, while the version made in Lazio adds them. Both are authentic.
Can I use green olives?
Black olives are traditional and give a deeper, fruitier flavour, but green olives will work if that is what you have.
Should I add Parmesan?
Puttanesca is not usually served with cheese. A little chopped parsley is all it needs.
Can I make the sauce ahead?
Yes. Make it up to 3 days ahead, keep it in the fridge and reheat gently while the pasta cooks.
