Spaghetti puttanesca that uses only what is already in your cupboard
This is worth making even when your pantry is not bare, because it’s a world famous pasta sauce: punchy, sweet, salty and satisfying.
A Sardinian riff on the classic puttanesca, which (as the myth of origin would have it) involves nothing fresh, only what a Neapolitan lady-of-the-night may have had lying around her cupboards. This lady often has the end of a bottle of wine hanging about, and I love the background note it brings here, so I add it even if it’s not necessarily traditional. I like to use a young Vernaccia, but whatever you have leftover will work. This is too good, however, to be just a fall-back dish. It is worth making even when your cupboards are not bare, and is one of my favourite pasta sauces: punchy, sweet, salty and satisfying. I love the sour saltiness of brined green olives, but use what you like, as long as they are unpitted.
Spaghetti Puttanesca
Serves 2
Ingredients
- 200g spaghetti
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, sliced
- Pinch of dried chilli flakes
- 6 anchovy fillets
- 2 tablespoons unpitted Green olives
- 1 tablespoon capers
- 100ml (scant ½ cup) Vernaccia or white wine (or dry sherry or vermouth)
- 300g tinned tomatoes
- Pinch of sugar or 1 scant teaspoon light honey
- Handful of parsley, chopped (optional)
- Salt
- Your best olive oil, to finish
Method
- Put a large pan of well-salted water on to boil and cook your spaghetti until al dente.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a sauté pan over a low heat. Add the sliced garlic and sauté until just turning golden, then add the chilli and anchovies and let them dissolve into the sauce, stirring. Next, add the olives, capers and wine, and simmer for 1-2 minutes before adding the tomatoes. Allow to simmer away for a good 10 minutes or so over a low heat, then taste for seasoning. It probably will not need any salt, but if it does, add a pinch. Depending on your tomatoes, this may be the moment when you want to add the sugar/honey if the flavour is still sour.
- Lift the cooked spaghetti into the pan of sauce and add a slosh of cooking water. Turn up the heat and toss the pan a few times until the pasta is evenly coated and a nice sauce forms. Throw in the chopped parsley (if using). Serve with a drizzle of your best olive oil.