Pasta Puttanesca is a robust, spicy, flavorful pasta dish made with tomato sauce, garlic, anchovies, olives, and capers. I have long used Mark Bittman’s recipe, but one day wanted to make it even more filling, so I added some sausage, and absolutely LOVED it! I prefer to make this with our chorizo sausage – the paprika and cumin meld beautifully with the tomato and garlic – but our Italian or Polish sausages also work well here. The anchovies may sound weird but they add so much depth and flavor to the dish – if you’re reluctant to try them, start with just one or two filets; if you use canned anchovies, you can store the extras for several weeks or months in a clean jar in the fridge.
Serves: 4 as a main
Prep Time: 10 minutes – Cook Time: 30 minutes – Total Time: 40 minutes
What You Need
2-5 brat-sized links of Flight Path Farm Chorizo (or Italian or Polish Sausage)
3-6 cloves of garlic, peeled, smashed or roughly chopped
3 or more anchovy filets
¼ to ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 28-once can whole plum tomatoes
½ cup pitted black olives, roughly chopped
2 T capers
1 lb linguine or other long pasta
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
How to Make It
Remove thawed sausage from casings by squeezing out the end. Leave in large chunks or form into meatballs, if desired. Heat a large frying pan over medium to medium-high heat. Place sausage in pan and allow to release fat and brown, tossing a few times. (For a smaller amount of sausage, I like to leave it in larger chunks; for large amounts of sausage, I like to break up the meat a bit with a spatula to get a Bolognese-like sauce). Remove browned sausage to a plate, leaving 2-3 T of oil in pan.
Bring pot of water to boil and salt it. Warm the remaining oil with garlic, anchovies, and red chili flakes in the frying pan over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic is lightly golden.
Drain tomatoes and crush with fork or hands. Add to skillet. Raise heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes break down and mixture becomes saucy, about 10 minutes. Stir in olives, capers, red pepper flakes, and browned sausage. Continue to simmer.
Cook pasta, stirring occasionally, until it is tender but not mushy. Drain quickly and toss with sauce and remaining tablespoon of oil. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary, garnish with herbs if you like, and serve.
