Puttanesca chickpeas

Name: Puttanesca chickpeas
Cook time: 30 min
Yield: 2-4
Cuisine: Contemporary
Ingredients: 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 onion, finely diced; 8 anchovy fillets, finely chopped (optional); ½ cup black olives, pitted, chopped; 2 tbsp capers; 3 garlic cloves, crushed; 4 tbsp finely chopped fresh mixed herbs (rosemary, basil, oregano, flat-leaf parsley), plus extra to serve; 700ml tomato passata; 2 x 400g cans chickpeas; grated parmesan, to serve

All the salty, savoury, briny flavours you love from the pasta dish, only with chickpeas.

Katrina Meynink

June 24, 2025

Serve puttanesca chickpeas over pasta to stretch this dish further.Katrina Meynink

easyTime:< 30 minsServes:2-4

This is the dinner equivalent of yelling “I’m fine!” while dramatically stirring olives, capers and chickpeas into a bubbling, tomatoey bowl of satisfaction.

It feeds between two and four people when served with a little something on the side – think pasta or crusty bread. A green salad wouldn’t go astray either.

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
8 anchovy fillets, finely chopped (optional)
½ cup black olives, pitted, chopped
2 tbsp capers
3 garlic cloves, crushed
4 tbsp finely chopped fresh mixed herbs (rosemary, basil, oregano, flat-leaf parsley), plus extra to serve
700ml tomato passata
2 x 400g cans chickpeas
grated parmesan, to serve

Method

Step 1
Add the olive oil to a large saucepan and place over medium heat. Add the onion and anchovies and cook until the onions are soft and translucent and the anchovies have melted into the mixture, between 5 and 8 minutes. Add the olives, capers and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Step 2
Add the herbs and passata, turn the heat to low, and simmer until the mixture has thickened and reduced slightly, about 20 minutes if you have the luxury of time. If time isn’t on your side, try to give it 10 minutes so the sauce reduces and the flavours intensify.
Step 3
Add the chickpeas and cook until they have warmed through, then turn into a serving bowl and top generously with grated parmesan and the remaining fresh herbs.