What do you do when you’re craving pasta but the fridge is almost empty? Pasta alla puttanesca is your answer: an intense, deep, and addictive sauce made entirely from pantry staples: canned tomatoes, olives, capers, anchovies, and garlic. And the best part: it’s ready in 20 minutes!
The result is a pasta with bold, perfectly salty flavor and just the right kick from the peperoncino. A great weeknight dinner or an impressive dish with zero fuss.
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A puttanesca that’ll make you say wow!
I served the puttanesca in these photos with black squid ink linguine I found at Marky’s,, a specialty food store in Miami. I loved the visual contrast: the deep black of the pasta against the vibrant red of the sauce. Total drama.
Which, fittingly, is what this Neapolitan dish is all about. In Italian, the word putta means prostitute. So literally, pasta alla puttanesca is pasta in the style of prostitutes.
The origin of the name is debated. One version says Neapolitan prostitutes made it between clients because it was quick and used whatever they had in the pantry. Another says an exasperated cook threw it together late at night with whatever was left in the kitchen.
What’s certain is that sugo alla puttanesca is a 20th-century Neapolitan sauce: intense, unpretentious, and absolutely delicious.
Buon appetito!
Enri
Ingredients
To make this pasta you’ll need:
- Black linguine (or regular linguine, or any long pasta noodles you prefer)
- Olive oil
- Garlic
- Canned whole peeled tomatoes
- Pitted black olives
- Baby capers
- Canned anchovy fillets
- Dried oregano
- Peperoncino (red pepper flakes)
- Fresh parsley for serving
Exact amounts are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to make pasta alla puttanesca
- Brown the garlic. In a deep skillet over medium heat, sauté the garlic in olive oil until it starts to turn golden. Add the anchovies. This is the flavor base of the whole sauce.
- Add the tomatoes. Add the whole peeled tomatoes with all their juices and crush them with a wooden spoon or a fork.
- Build the sauce. Add the olives, capers, oregano, and peperoncino. Cook over medium heat until the sauce thickens and the flavors come together. The anchovies dissolve completely — you won’t taste them, but they add incredible depth.
- Finish and serve. Turn off the heat, add the al dente pasta, toss well to coat, and serve immediately topped with chopped fresh parsley.
Tip: Don’t add salt until you’ve tasted the sauce — the olives, capers, and anchovies already do the job perfectly.
FAQs
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Black Linguine alla Puttanesca
Ingredients
- 1 package black squid ink linguine 456 g
- 4 tablespoons olive oil 60 ml
- 4 garlic cloves thinly sliced 20 g
- 1 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes with their juices 800 g
- 1/3 cup black olives pitted and roughly chopped 60 g
- 4 tablespoons baby capers 60 g
- 1 2 oz can can anchovy fillets roughly chopped 60 g
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano 5 g
- Peperoncino red pepper flakes, to taste
- Fresh parsley chopped, for serving
Instructions
- In a deep skillet over medium heat, sauté the garlic in olive oil until it starts to turn golden. Add the anchovies and cook for about 5 minutes total.
- Add the tomatoes with all their juices and crush them with a fork. Cook for 5 more minutes.
- Add the olives, capers, oregano, and peperoncino. Cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until the sauce thickens.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta al dente in a pot of salted boiling water.
- Turn off the heat, add the pasta to the sauce, toss well, and serve immediately topped with fresh parsley.
Nutrition
Notes
- Don’t salt the sauce before tasting — the anchovies, olives, and capers provide plenty of salt on their own.
- To make it vegetarian: leave out the anchovies and add an extra teaspoon of capers and a pinch of salt.
- The sauce keeps for 5 to 7 days in the fridge and freezes well for up to 3 months.
- Squid ink linguine create a stunning visual contrast against the red sauce.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @enrilemoine on Instagram and hashtag it #byenrilemoine. Thank you!
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