One-Pot Pasta Puttanesca

VEGAN: skip the anchovies and parmesan cheese / SERVES: 4 / COST PER SERVING: $4

Ingredients

4 cloves garlic, sliced

3 tbl olive oil (or butter)

2-3 c tomatoes (can also do a jar of tomato sauce)

2 tbl capers

1/2 c black or kalamata olives, pitted

4-8 anchovy fillets (optional)

1/2 tsp red pepper flake

4 c vegetable broth (or water)

1 lb dry fettuccine

fresh parsley, roughly chopped

parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

Directions

Takes about 30 minutes.

In one pot (that’s right, one fucking pot) sauté the garlic in olive oil until it starts to turn golden brown.

Stir in tomatoes, capers, olives, and red pepper flake and cook for a few minutes until the tomatoes start to break down (jabbing them with a wooden utensil helps).

Add fettuccine and broth. Bring to a gentle simmer (no need to cover) and stir frequently until pasta is al dente, about 10-12 minutes.

Toss in the fresh herbs at the very end so they release their flavor in the heat without losing their color. Top with parmesan cheese.

You have to get the water-pasta ratio right, but besides that, you can’t mess this up.

Sure, pasta cooked in the same pot as the sauce is overly starchy but if you cared about that I don't think you'd still be reading this. Go ahead and make this with any veggies you like—onions are a great place to start (I was fresh out). You can chop the ingredients more finely if you're fancy but this way is faster and I prefer it chunky.

P.S. If you use canned tomatoes, be sure to get whole peeled because the tomatoes will be much higher quality than chopped or crushed. Just break them up with a wooden spoon as they cook.

Want to add chicken?

You can totally add chicken to this dish and still do it one-pot style. First, sear and sautee 2-4 chicken breasts right in the big pot with some olive oil until browned on both sides and cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside on the cutting board to rest. Proceed with the rest of the instructions.

Sauté the garlic

One-pot pasta puttanesca - saute the garlic

In one pot (that’s right, one fucking pot) sauté the garlic in olive oil until it starts to turn golden brown.

Add the veggies

Stir in tomatoes, capers, olives, and red pepper flake and cook for a few minutes until the tomatoes start to break down (jabbing them with a wooden utensil helps). Now is the time to also add the anchovy fillets if you’red doing that. P.S. Plenty of people claim they hate anchovies and then ALSO claim they love this dish so...

Add the pasta and broth

One-pot pasta puttanesca - add pasta.jpg

Add fettuccine and broth. This time I added a lot of tomatoes and should have used less water. Keep in mind, you can always add more liquid at the end if things look dry but are still al dente. Meanwhile slice the chicken breast.

Simmer uncovered

Bring to a gentle simmer (no need to cover) and stir frequently until pasta is al dente, about 10-12 minutes. Add in the chicken.

Toss with fresh tomatoes and herbs

One-pot pasta puttanesca - finished dish.jpg

Toss in the fresh herbs at the very end so they release their flavor in the heat without losing their color. Top with parmesan cheese. This time I also added some halved grape tomatoes.