Italian
10 Minute Kitchen
From
10 Minute Kitchen
season
2
Spaghetti alla Puttanesca
With
Dezi Madafferi
Naples' weeknight pasta: tomato, olives, capers in a sauce built from the pantry.
SERVES
4
About this recipe
Naples' weeknight classic, the sauce that built itself from what was on the shelf. Salty capers, brined Kalamata olives, a fistful of garlic, basil torn at the last second and grape tomatoes blistered in olive oil until they collapse into something briny and bold.
The name carries its own folklore (puttana, the loose translation everyone knows) and the dish has the swagger to match. No anchovy in this version, but the olives and capers do the heavy work, throwing salt and umami at the pasta water and pulling the sauce together with a half-cup of starchy reserve. The basil goes in off the heat so it stays green and doesn't bruise.
Use a good dry pasta (Barilla, De Cecco, Rummo, whatever's at the shop) and don't rinse it after draining: the starch is what makes the sauce cling to each strand of spaghetti without sliding off the fork.
Twenty minutes, no compromise. A glass of cold Falanghina or a Vermentino if you want to keep it regional. Bread on the side to mop the bowl.
Ingredients
- 1 pack Barilla Spaghetti No. 7
- 3 punnets Perino Grape Tomatoes
- 60mL olive oil
- 2 garlic Cloves
- 2 tbsp small Capers
- 130g pitted Kalamata Olives 1/2 bunch fresh Basil
Method
1. Boil Water and then salt water well. Cook Barilla Spaghetti (keeping 1/2 cup of the boiled pasta water) and cook until al dente (approx 9mins)
2. Chop the Perino Grape tomatoes in half, but leaving some whole for texture.
3. Finely chop the garlic cloves.
4. In a hot fry, add a splash of olive oil and then add the tomatoes, cover with a lid. Shaking/Stirring regularly so they cook evenly
5. Rinse and roughly chop the capers
6. Roughly chop the olives.
7. Add garlic, capers and olives to the Tomatoes
8. Remove the leaves from the Basil and finely chop the stalks. And add to the Tomatoes Sauce
9. Add a half cup of the Pasta water to thicken the sauce
10. Reduce heat and mix well.
11. Add the Spaghetti directly to the Tomato Sauce, stir through and plate up.
12. Add extra fresh Basil leaves and grated Parmesan.
Dezi Madafferi
Dezi Madafferi is an avid home cook who first graced our television screens on Channel 7’s Plate of Origin, where her ‘Team Greece’ recipes won her team the competition. Co-host on Ten Minute Kitchen channel 10, Season 2, Dezi brings her joyful energy to quick and easy recipes.
Dezi’s easy-to-make Mediterranean recipes inspire and are loved by, not only her 111K followers on Instagram, but equally a number of reputable brands, She is the official ambassador for Riverina Dairy Co and has worked with the likes of Tasman Butchers regularly, Barilla, Coca-Cola , Harris Scarfe, and Old El Paso, sharing family-friendly recipes. Dezi has also created reels showcasing the Dandenong Market and events.
As a mother of two girls, a wife and owner of ‘Dezi cooks seasoning range’ she enjoys keeping recipes and styling simple and attainable for families and entertaining, and it’s this authenticity that has helped Dezi to build a loyal following online.
Inspiration Starts Here
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