Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca

Ingredients

• 320 g Italian spaghetti
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 10 g Salted capers
• 25 g Anchovies in oil
• 800 g Peeled tomatoes sugo
• 1 bunch Parsley
• 100 g Gaeta olives
• 2 Chopped chillies
• Salt

Method

Puttanesca rests entirely on the anchovies — they dissolve into the oil to create an umami base that anchors the briny olives and capers. This is a sauce that builds through one continuous pan, not by layering separate components.

Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the oil from the tinned anchovies and a splash of fresh olive oil (the tinned oil alone is too intense). Smash the garlic cloves with the flat of your knife and add them whole — they'll infuse the oil without breaking apart. Crumble in the dried chilli, stirring constantly. Within 90 seconds the kitchen will smell peppery and sharp. Add the anchovy fillets. They'll break down immediately under the spoon; keep stirring for 2–3 minutes until you lose the distinct shape entirely and the oil turns savoury-brown. This is the point anchovies contribute their full savour without any fishy edge — if you stop before they completely dissolve, the sauce tastes raw.

Tip in the peeled tomatoes sugo and stir through. The sauce will seize slightly as the cooler tomato hits the oil; break up any clumps with the spoon. Simmer steadily for 8–10 minutes. You're not cooking the tomatoes into submission — you want them barely softened, still identifiable in texture, with the raw sharpness mellowed just enough to let the pan-cooking have warmed them through. Salt cautiously; the capers and olives will add their own sodium.

Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in salted water until it still has a slight resistance at the centre. Two minutes before the pasta finishes, crush the Gaeta olives hard — leave the flesh scattered and rough, not a paste. Remove the garlic cloves from the sauce.

Drain the spaghetti, reserving a small cup of the cooking water. Add the pasta directly to the pan with the crushed olives and most of the chopped parsley. Toss vigorously for 45 seconds. If the sauce tightens, loosen it with a splash of pasta water — it should coat the strands without pooling. Finish with the remaining parsley. Serve at once.