Pasta alla Puttanesca
Pasta alla puttanesca is one of our favourite dishes. It's one of the ways we bring the fresh taste of the sea to our landlocked plates — a bit spicy, tangy, fishy, and mainly fresh. One of the quickest comfort foods we always like to make.
Favourite dish while working on: FAMUFEST 42
Ingredients
- 200 g of pasta of your choice (spaghetti or linguine recommended)
- 1 can of whole plum tomatoes
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 6 anchovies marinated in oil
- 50 g of black olives di Gaeta (Kalamata will do just fine)
- 25 g of capers in brine
- 1 chilli pepper (adjust spice level to your desire)
- A handful of parsley
- Extra virgin olive oil
Directions
Preheat your pan to medium heat — at Hot Pot, we use only stainless steel. Meanwhile, peel the garlic and cut it into medium-thick slices along its length. Slice the pitted olives in half and finely chop the chilli. Prepare the anchovies.
When your pan is ready, add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and wait a few seconds until the oil feels comfortable in the pan. Add the garlic, chilli, anchovies and olives, and stir. Fry for 5 minutes, or until the anchovies have dissolved and the garlic is slightly cooked. Do not let the garlic brown.
Add the can of tomatoes and crush them in the pan. Stir together and let it cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. You want to reach a thick consistency — but not too thick, or it'll turn into a paste and burn. If your sauce gets too thick, add a little boiling water, preferably pasta water.
Meanwhile, cook your pasta in salted water 2 minutes below the packet instructions, or until very al dente. Finely chop the parsley.
Now's a good time to taste your sauce, season it, and fine-tune the spice level. Strain your pasta, keeping the pasta water. Add a ladle of pasta water to the sauce, then add the pasta. Mix well so the sauce coats all of it. If it's too thick, add a bit more pasta water — you want the pasta gently boiling in the sauce without drying out. Cook for another 2 minutes or so, tasting until it reaches the perfect al dente point.
Once the pasta is al dente, turn off the heat and sprinkle in half the chopped parsley. Add a little more pasta water, depending on the consistency. Now you need to build the emulsion — the sauce should coat every strand and turn glossy and creamy.
Toss the pan up and down so it makes a nice splashy sound. If it's too dry, add more pasta water bit by bit. If it's too watery, keep tossing until it turns into a nice emulsion. You're aiming for a rich, creamy sauce.
Plate the dish onto two plates, dividing the sauce on top. Serve with the rest of the chopped parsley, and no cheese — fish and cheese don't usually mix, so no Parmigiano here.
Buon appetito!