If you want to make a quick and easy evening meal, try this spaghetti Puttanesca. This classic Italian dish is rich in flavor and can be made in less than 25 minutes. The flavors are exceptionally delicious, salty, and spicy with umami, yet fresh. The ingredients are very simple and easy to come by. A real Italian surprise.
Easy Spaghetti Puttanesca: A Simple and Tasty Recipe
If you're looking for a quick and easy pasta dish, you really should try this Spaghetti Puttanesca. I still remember being surprised when I tasted it for the first time in a romantic little restaurant in Italy. The flavors were rich and so delicious. Anyway, I had to try this. I have had this version that we all enjoy for several years.
The secret of a good spaghetti Puttanesca is in the sauce, which consists of tomatoes, a good olive oil, garlic, olives, anchovies, and capers. You bake a delicious sauce with fresh lemon, parsley, and a pinch of cinnamon to make a rich sauce that goes perfectly with spaghetti. The result will surprise you, and I'm sure you will make this again and again, just like we do!
What does Puttanesca mean?
Puttanesca literally means 'in the manner of a prostitute' in Italian. There are several stories about its origin.
The first is that a well-known restaurant owner in Ischia, received a group of customers at a late hour, close to closing time. The owner had few ingredients in the kitchen, so he told his customers he didn't have enough ingredients to make a meal. They still insisted and said, 'facci Una puttanata qualsiasi' or 'Make us whatever prostitute mess.' And with the now well-known ingredients, spaghetti was put on the table, which would be renamed into Spaghetti Puttanesca.
A second story says that the name is derived from the ingredients always present in a brothel's pantry. Who knows which story is true may say so.
What do you need for Italian Pasta Puttanesca?
To prepare this Easy Spaghetti Puttanesca, you require the following ingredients. You can find the correct amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of the blog:
- Spaghetti: an Italian pasta, a long thin round pasta string.
- Tomatoes: Fresh sweet, firm and nice, and juicy. Plum and Roma tomatoes taste delicious and are highly recommended for the Puttanesca sauce.
- Garlic: for a bit of spice in the sauce.
- Anchovies: Has a distinct taste, salty, umami, and a hint of fish. It is an ingredient often used to give a dish more flavor.
- Black olives: Give a bite to the spaghetti Puttanesca. In addition, they have a salty and earthy taste, perfect in combination with the other flavors in the sauce.
- Parsley: For a fresh flavor accent.
- Capers: these deep green balls are fresh, peppery, and spicy. They are the unopened flower buds of the caper plant.
- Cinnamon: It has a sweet, woody flavor with a hint of lemon.
- Tuna: Use canned tuna. You can buy this with olive oil, sunflower oil, or water. It doesn't matter much for the result, but tuna in water is slightly slimmer.
- Lemon: For a fresh taste and a hint of citrus.
How to prepare Spaghetti with Capers, Olives, and Anchovies
You can find a printable recipe with a step-by-step description at the bottom of this blog.
- Put some olive oil in the pan and heat. Add the capers, garlic, anchovies, olives, cinnamon, and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
- Add the tomato cubes to the sauce. Put the lid on the pan and let it simmer until the tomatoes fall apart.
- Then add the spaghetti, parsley, and tuna. Stir everything well and, if necessary, heat over low heat until hot.
- Serve the Pasta Puttanesca with a delicious tomato salad and fresh Parmesan cheese.
Tips, Substitutions, and Variations
- TIP: Use good quality ingredients. Fresh garlic, Roma, or plum tomatoes, which are well-ripened, and good olive oil. This dish is all about pure flavors.
- Also tasty: Add three tablespoons of red wine to the sauce.
- Spaghetti: Can also be substituted for linguine.
- Spicy: If you want to give the sauce more spice, add fresh pepper.
- Seafood Puttanesca: Add shrimp or other seafood to the sauce.
- Vegetables Puttanesca: If you want extra vegetables, add roasted peppers, zucchini, or eggplant to the Puttanesca sauce.
Olive oil, anchovies, capers, olives, garlic, and tomatoes are added to the sauce, the sugo alla Puttanesca. Although in Napoli, the anchovies are often omitted, and chili peppers are added in Lazio.
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Easy Spaghetti Puttanesca
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- 2 oz. anchovies cut into three
- 2 oz. black olives pitted, quartered
- 1 tablespoon capers
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 7 tomatoes diced
- 2 tablespoons Fresh Parsley finely chopped, without stems
- 2 cups canned tuna
- ½ lemon juice
Ingredients you need per step are listed below the step in Italic
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package.1 pound spaghetti
- Heat the olive oil in a frying pan. Add the garlic, anchovies, olives, caper, and cinnamon to the pan. Stir-fry for 2 minutes.2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 clove garlic, 2 oz. anchovies, 2 oz. black olives, 1 tablespoon capers, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Then add the tomato cubes and put the lid on the pan. Simmer over low heat until they fall apart.7 tomatoes
- Add the tuna, pasta, parsley, and lemon juice to the tomato sauce. Stir well.2 tablespoons Fresh Parsley, 2 cups canned tuna, ½ lemon
- If it's not hot enough yet, heat it on low heat.
- Serve immediately when hot.
Notes
- Add three tablespoons of red wine to the sauce.
- Spicy: If you want to give the sauce more spice, add fresh pepper.
- Seafood Puttanesca: Add shrimp or other seafood to the sauce.
- If you want extra vegetables, add roasted peppers, zucchini, or eggplant to the Puttanesca sauce.
- Refrigerator: Store in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days.
- Freezer: Store in a freezer box or bag for up to 2 months. Let thaw in the refrigerator.
- Reheat: Heat in the microwave or add two tablespoons of water and fry in a skillet until hot.
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