If I had to enjoy one meal for the rest of my life, it would most certainly be linguine puttanesca. A bowl full of perfectly cooked linguine pasta, tossed with a rich and aromatic tomato sauce flavored with savory garlic, anchovies, olives and capers. All you need is a good hunk of crusty bread and a decadent glass of red wine.
Puttanesca is one of my favorite sauces. The smell is intoxicating and flavors of puttanesca sauce are salty, briny and perfectly savory. I have made puttanesca in all sorts of ways over the years, such as chicken puttanesca with chicken thighs that are braised in the olive and caper sauce, as well as salmon puttanesca, which is featured in my First cookbook, The Weeknight Mediterranean Kitchen. Did I mention my Second cookbook, One-Pot Mediterranean is on shelves nationwide June 13, 2023?
Puttanesca sauce is a simple tomato based sauce with savory and salty elements of anchovies, olives and capers. And if you are nervous about anchovies, don't be. The filets melt in the oil and give off a gorgeous salty depth of flavor without tasting "fishy". For a pasta dish on the spicy side try my Rigatoni with Spicy Pork Ragu.
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🫒 What does Puttanesca mean?
Puttanesca translates to "in the style of the prostitute" and the story is that prostitutes would make this bold and aromatic sauce to lure their clients in from the streets. And I can certainly see why. The aroma of anchovy infused olive oil and garlic are addictive and salivating.
Recipe Highlights
- Linguine puttanesca makes a great weeknight dinner recipe that is done in nearly 30 minutes.
- Full of savory and salty flavors and a bold and flavorful tomato sauce.
- Uses pantry staples such as jarred olives, jarred capers and anchovies.
📋 Ingredients
- Linguine: Use your favorite pasta shape but I love using a long noodle, such as linguine for this thicker sauce. Cook the pasta 1-2 minutes less than package directions since the pasta will finish cooking in the sauce.
- Olive Oil
- Anchovy Fillets: You'll only need a few fillets of anchovy and will probably have some left over. Save the rest of the anchovy fillets for homemade caesar salad dressing or add to this kale pasta with toasted breadcrumbs.
- Garlic Cloves
- Red Pepper Flakes: Just a pinch for added heat but leave out if you prefer a mild sauce.
- White Wine: Such as Pinot Grigio or White Blend.
- Crushed Tomatoes: Use any canned tomatoes that you have on hand, such as diced tomatoes or whole plum tomatoes, which you can crush with your hands.
- Pitted Kalamata Olives: These dark briny olives are more traditionally used in a puttanesca but I like to also add a mild olive for different layers of flavor.
- Pitted Castelvetrano Olives: One of my favorite olives, castelvetrano are buttery and mild and work very well in puttanesca. Feel free to add a mixture of either one.
- Capers: Look for capers that are bottled in brine. Use leftover capers for chicken piccata or sole meuniere.
- Fresh Basil: Roughly tear the fresh basil leave or slice thin for garnish.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
🍅 Substitutions and Variations
- Make an extra batch of puttanesca sauce for chicken puttanesca and serve over creamy polenta.
- Use all or a combination of the kalamata olives or castelvetrano olives.
- Instead of basil, garnish the linguine puttanesca with fresh oregano.
- Use other pasta shapes such as spaghetti, bucatini, fettuccine or penne rigate.
- Instead of red pepper flakes, add a teaspoon of chopped Calabrian chilis.
- If anchovies aren't available, add 1-2 dashes of fish sauce or omit altogether and make aulive and chiapparielle, which is pasta with olives and capers.
⏲️ Instructions
Step 1: Over medium heat, drizzle olive oil in a pot and once hot, add the anchovy fillets and sauté until disintegrated, then add the garlic and optional red pepper flakes and saute for another 1-2 minutes.
Step 2: Pour white wine in, bring to a strong simmer and let the wine reduce slightly, for about 2-3 minutes.
Step 3: Pour in the crushed tomatoes and full the can halfway with water and add that in. Along with the olives and capers and give everything a good stir.
Step 4: Simmer the puttanesca sauce for 20-25 minutes until thickened. While sauce is cooking, cook the pasta.
Step 5: Add the cooked pasta directly into the puttanesca sauce and toss to combine well. Add ½ cup of starchy pasta water if sauce is too thick.
Step 6: Serve linguine puttanesca in wide bowls and garnish with fresh basil and serve.
📍 Recipe Tips
- Melt the anchovy fillets in the hot oil so they break down and permeate the sauce.
- Cook the pasta for 1-2 minutes less than the package directions and finish cooking the pasta in the puttanesca sauce.
- Save ½-1 cup of the starchy pasta water to add to the puttanesca sauce, if it's too thick.
- Puttanesca sauce is great to make ahead, up to 4 days in advance.
- Notice there is no salt added in the recipe because the anchovies, olives and capers are salty already. Taste for seasoning and adjust as preferred.
What to Serve with Linguine Puttanesca
- Homemade Caesar salad as the first course.
- Roasted garlic focaccia to dip into the luscious sauce or good crusty ciabatta bread.
- A glass of your favorite red wine, such as Brunello or Chianti.
Recipe FAQs
Puttanesca sauce is salty, briny, savory and full flavored. Add red pepper flakes to add a bit of heat.
Instead of anchovies, add 1-2 dashes of fish sauce or omit the anchovies all together.
Similar Recipes FSRI Block
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
More Pasta Recipes to Try
Linguine Puttanesca
LittleFerraroKitchen.com
Ingredients
- 1 pound linguine
- 3 tablespoons Olive oil
- 3 anchovy fillets
- 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
- ½ tsp. red pepper flakes
- ¾ cup white wine
- 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- ½-1 cup water full the can halfway with water
- ½ cup Pitted Kalamata olives roughly chopped
- ½ cup pitted Castelvetrano olives roughly chopped
- ½ cup capers
- Fresh basil for garnish
Instructions
- Bring a medium sized pot to medium heat and drizzle the olive oil.
- Once the oil is hot, add the anchovy filets and saute for 1-2 minutes until the filets disintegrate, breaking up with a spatula. Then add the chopped garlic and optional red pepper flakes and sauté for another 1-2 minutes.
- Pour the white wine in and bring to a strong simmer until the wine reduces slightly, for 2-3 minutes.
- Once the wine has reduced, pour the crushed tomatoes in and fill the can halfway with water and pour that in as well. Add the chopped olives and capers and simmer the puttanesca sauce for 20-25 minutes until slightly thickened.
- While the sauce cooks, cook the pasta in a pot of boiling water, but don't cook it all the way. Once it's about 1-2 minutes before being fully cooked, remove the linguine with tongs and add the cooked pasta to the puttanesca sauce.
- Save some of the starchy pasta water and add ¼-1/2 cup if the sauce is too thick. Use tongs and mix the pasta into the sauce so all of the noodles are evenly coated.
- Serve the puttanesca pasta in wide bowls and garnish with fresh basil.
Video
Notes
- Melt the anchovy fillets in the hot oil so they break down and permeate the sauce.
- Cook the pasta for 1-2 minutes less than the package directions and finish cooking the pasta in the puttanesca sauce.
- Save ½-1 cup of the starchy pasta water to add to the puttanesca sauce, if it's too thick.
- Puttanesca sauce is great to make ahead, up to 4 days in advance.
- Notice there is no salt added in the recipe because the anchovies, olives and capers are salty already. Taste for seasoning and adjust as preferred.
Nutrition
In the Kitchen with Dinah says
What a fun recipe, I looked up Puttanesca, what a great background story behind the dish. Anyway the flavors in this pasta dish are one of a kind. We are going to do the Chicken Puttanesca next.
MrnMrsindkitchen says
Thank you for this wonderful classic recipe. I made this using another recipe, followed it exactly and the taste was not so good. I followed this recipe to the "T", and it turned out WONDERFUL. The anchovy fillets just disintegrate. Fantastic recipe.