Pasta Puttanesca

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a recipe here on my blog so I thought to share one of my favourite pasta recipes to date. I’m a huge pasta fan and I’ve grown up on pasta prepared in million ways. Being raised in a small city on the Croatian seaside, which was heavily influenced by Italy and Italian cuisine, I can proudly say that I had a privilege of eating the best pastas through my whole childhood so I have a very fine taste when it comes to how I like my pastas and sauces that come with it.

Pasta Puttanesca is very simple, rich in flavour and one of the staple recipes in Italian kitchen. Here is my version of this well known recipe which I’ve adjusted to my and my family’s liking. If you try this recipe at home, let me know, I’d love to hear if you’ve liked it. 🙂

BON APETIT!!

For this recipe that serves two adults, you’ll need:

*Spaghetti pasta

*2-3 cloves of fresh garlic

*1 chilli ( won’t use the whole )

*50 grams of anchovies

*1 tbsp deseeded and chopped up black olives

*2 teaspoons of capers

*200 grams of cherry tomatoes (roast them in the oven for a little bit beforehand)

*dried thyme, pepper, olive oil, basil

To prepare:

Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. I love Garofalo pasta and it took 10-11 minutes for my spaghetti to be cooked al dente. In a frying pan, warm up your olive oil, add chopped up garlic cloves, bit of 1 chilli’s chopped end (tip) and anchovies which you have previously took out of the can, discarded the oil and have chopped them up into smaller pieces. Simmer the ingredients for 1-2 mins until garlic releases it’s aroma and anchovies start to “fall apart”. Add olives, capers and cherry tomatoes which you’ve previously cut up in half and have slightly roasted in the oven for 10 minutes on 200°C. Simmer everything in the pan for 1-2 minutes and then add your spaghetti to the pan and mix it well with all of the ingredients. Add a small drizzle of olive oil, add dried thyme and pepper to taste, stir once again to combine everything well and take your pan off the stove.

Serve with grated Pecorino cheese or crumbled feta cheese and basil leaves.