Lunch · Dinner · Italian

Spaghetti puttanesca

Name: Spaghetti puttanesca
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 400g Spaghetti; 2 tins Chopped tomatoes; 100g Pitted Kalamata olives; 2 tbsp Capers, drained; 3 cloves Garlic, thinly sliced; 1 tsp Chilli flakes; 15g Fresh parsley; 3 tbsp Olive oil

Salty, punchy and made from the cupboard. The dinner for the week before payday.

Start to finish: 20 min
Hands-on: 15 min
In the fridge: 2 days
Freezes: Not well

VeganA little heatContains gluten

Ingredients

4 portions

400gSpaghetti
2 tinsChopped tomatoes
100gPitted Kalamata olives
2 tbspCapers, drained
3 clovesGarlic, thinly sliced
1 tspChilli flakes
15gFresh parsley
3 tbspOlive oil

Plus salt, pepper and water.

Method

1
Bring a big pan of salted water to the boil.
2
Meanwhile, thinly slice the garlic and roughly chop the olives and parsley.
3
Warm 2 tbsp of the oil in a large frying pan over a low heat. Add the garlic and chilli flakes and cook gently for 2 minutes, without letting the garlic brown.
4
Add the tomatoes, olives and capers. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until thick and jammy.
10 min, mostly hands-off
5
Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti for a minute less than the packet says.
10 min, mostly hands-off
6
Scoop out a mugful of the pasta water, then drain. Toss the spaghetti into the sauce with the parsley, the last of the oil and a splash of the water until glossy. Season with black pepper.

On the day

Eat it hot, with a green salad if you have one. Leftovers are good cold from a tub at lunch the next day, or warmed through with a splash of water.

Cook’s tip

Taste before you salt. The olives and capers have done most of that job already.