Paccheri with Puttanesca Sauce<Photo: Steven Babish
A classic Neapolitan sauce and cut of pasta that is rich and full of deep flavours. I love the texture of paccheri and find that is works so well for a sauce like this. Avoid over salting the water or sauce as the majority of ingredients in this recipe are preserved in salt and bring a powerful punch!
| 250 g | paccheri |
| ½ tin | San Marzano tomatoes (796 ml tin), crushed by hand |
| ½ | red onion, sliced |
| 1 clove | garlic, thinly sliced |
| 2 fillets | anchovy, finely chopped (optional) |
| 1/3 c | pitted Taggiasca or Gaeta olives |
| 1 T | capers |
| 3 T | extra virgin olive oil |
| ¼ c | white wine |
| pinch | dried chili flakes |
Heat the olive oil in a wide pot or large deep pan over medium-high heat. Add the red onion, sauté until lightly softened, add the garlic and anchovy and cook for an additional 3 seconds stirring constantly. Add the white wine and chile flakes and allow to cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and cook until reduced by almost half, approximately 8–10 minutes. Add the olives and capers, cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat until ready for pasta.
While the sauce is cooking bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the paccheri, cook until al dente (roughly 1 minute prior to package instructions). Using a spider, remove the paccheri directly from the water to the pot of sauce. Return pot to high heat, add a splash of pasta cooking water. Cook stirring constantly, until the sauce is thick and coating the paccheri, approximately 30 seconds. Serve immediately.
Serves 2.