If you like a little heat in your pasta, then puttanesca sauce is what you should be making. However, if you are already familiar with this sauce, but do not have a homemade batch. I more than highly recommend it, for a few reasons. One is that it tastes way better than your store-bought version, plus you can make it in advance and store it in the freezer for when the craving hits. This is a very simple and straightforward recipe, and I will also show you what to do to reduce the heat intensity.
Another reason to love this recipe is that you can use it on pizza in place of the same old tomato sauce. Just don’t go too crazy with the topping, I would try it as a plain puttanesca pizza first (so only the sauce and mozzarella). And if you like the taste, make a pizza with 1 or 2 toppings that compliment the sauce.
Let’s Talk About Heat
Puttanesca sauce is made using fresh red birds eye chili. If you have used this before you know that it can be a hit or miss with the ‘spice kick’. A large chili doesn’t always result in a super spicy sauce. Or a small-size chili resulting in a mild sauce. In fact, it has happened that I used a small chili with the sauce being quite spicy. So if you do not want it overly hot…
Here’s what to do: Very finely dice the chili, including the seeds. Heat a non-stick pan and when hot, add the oil and infuse with garlic. Thereafter, add the chili. Let that sauté for a few seconds until they start to shrink. Then take out 1/4 of the chili, before adding in the other ingredients. Sauté the mix for 2 minutes then pour in the tomato pureé and a pinch of salt, before leaving it to reduce (thicken) for 7 minutes.
After the sauce has reduced and had time to merge flavors, taste it. Add salt if need be and if it is not spicy enough, then toss in the previously reserved sautéed chili.
With this sauce, I believe balance is key. It needs to be spicy but not so much that all the other ingredients are drowned out. You need to have a scent and taste of everything else.
Do This for a Lumpy Puttanesca Sauce
If you prefer to have it lumpier, I suggest that you:
1. Use homemade or canned crushed tomatoes instead of passata or puréed tomatoes. Why? Because it’s thicker, which brings us to the next point.
2. Use less time to reduce (thicken) the sauce. Since the sauce is made with crushed and not puréed tomatoes, it should take a shorter time to reduce. I would say roughly 4-5 minutes after adding it to the other ingredients.
Keep your eye on the sauce and stir occasionally. The time it takes to reduce is not set in stone so just take it off the fire when it reaches the consistency you prefer.
Puttanesca Sauce Questions Answered
What does puttanesca mean?
Puttanesca comes from the Italian word ‘puttana’ which means prostitute/whore.
Why is it called puttanesca?
There are many versions claiming why this sauce is called puttanesca. And I still don’t know which one is the true version. However, one aspect of most if not all versions that doesn’t change is the fact that a prostitute/prostitution had something to do with the inspiration of this sauce. When I finally find out the true version- il be sure to share it with you.
Is puttanesca sauce healthy?
Puttanesca sauce has no cheese and does not include any sugar or excess salt. One could argue that the chili being high in vitamin C is a bonus. Whether this sauce is healthy or not is relative, however, compared to other sauces like ham and cream or mac and cheese. I would say this is one of the pasta sauces you should opt for when you don’t want something high in calories.
What types of pasta are suitable for puttanesca sauce?
Depending on how you reduce the sauce or cut up the ingredients. The sauce may end up lumpy, pasty, or even light if blended. I would stick to long pasta and when using short pasta, use ribbed cylindrical-shaped like penne, tortiglioni, or rigatoni. Don’t use the small pasta made for soups.
I don’t like to chew on bits in my sauce, what do I do?
Blend all the ingredients excluding the garlic and tomato until they form a paste. Use passata instead of crushed tomatoes, then proceed with the same instructions for making the sauce.
Here’s How to Make Puttanesca Sauce From Scratch…
Puttanesca sauce
(+10 rating, 2 votes)
Loading...Pasta sauce made with anchovies, fresh red bird's eye chili, capers, black olives, and tomatoes.
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves
- 10 Pitted black olives
- 5 Capers
- 6 Anchovies(20g)
- 1 Fresh red bird's eye chili
- 400g Canned plum tomatoes
Instructions
Let the water run through the capers to wash off some of the saltiness
Very finely chop the anchovies, chili, capers, and 5 black olives- it should look almost like a paste when fried. If preferred you can use a blender
Puree the tomatoes and sieve out the seeds
Heat the non-stick saucepan over high heat then pour in 4 tbsp of oil and the garlic cloves.
Tilt the pan to form a puddle around the garlic and turn them every few seconds. Let the garlic infuse in the olive oil for 40 seconds and take them out before they start to brown.
Toss in the chopped ingredients and leave to sauté for 2 minutes. Pour in the tomato sauce, a pinch of salt, and the leftover 5 olives. Leave to reduce (thicken) on medium heat for 7 minutes occasionally stirring occasionally.
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