Italian-American Spaghetti alla Puttanesca
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lb onions, chopped
- 1 oz garlic, finely chopped
- 4 ounces (110 g / 2 small tins) anchovy fillets or anchovy paste
- 1 oz capers, thoroughly rinsed
- 1–3 fresh or dried hot chile peppers, deseeded and finely chopped
- 1 standard, American-sized can (6 ounces / 170 g) pitted, black or kalamata olives, quartered
- 3 standard, American-sized cans (43.5 ounces / 1.23 kg) tomatoes, diced
- Salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
- 1 gallon water
- 1 lb dry spaghetti or linguine
Method
- Fill a large pot with water and add a handful of salt.
- Set heat on high to boil water.
- Heat 4 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add onions to skillet and cook until soft, stirring occasionally. Be careful not to burn the onions.
- Add garlic and anchovies to skillet. Cook for 1 minute maximum, stirring to break up the anchovies.
- Add capers, chili peppers, olives, tomatoes, pepper and 1 tablespoon of salt to skillet.
- Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste to see if you want to add more salt.
- Boil the pasta until al dente while the sauce is simmering. This should take about 12 minutes.
- Drain the cooked pasta in a colander and replace it in the same pot.
- Pour the sauce on top of the pasta and toss over low heat until it's thoroughly coated.
- Take it off the heat and top with parsley and 1 tablespoon olive oil.
- Serve hot.