Puttanesca Bianco (sans tomatoes!)

April 16, 2018

Puttanesca Bianco (sans tomatoes!)

I love a puttanesca sauce.....that lusty peasant sauce made w/ olives, capers, anchovies, tons of garlic and tomatoes. But since I am not eating red sauce lately (indigestion, big time), I decided on a puttanesca bianco!

There is a great recipe in Franny's Cookbook (a Brooklyn restaurant, now closed) for Spaghetti w/ White Puttanesca.
I was all in.

I didn't really need to follow a recipe, but I liked that they used Cerignola olives instead of the crappy supermarket variety that most use (NEVER USE CANNED RUBBER OLIVES). I threw in some kalamatas too for color, and added in a jar of artichokes....why not? It's spring.

This was fabulous.

Next time, I am topping with garlic breadcrumbs to make it even LUSTIER!

Spaghetti w/ White Puttanesca: (loosely adapted from Franny's)

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
can of anchovy fillets, drained
1/4 cup salt-packed capers, soaked, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup pitted and sliced Nocellara or Cerignola olives
6 fat garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
1 jar or can of artichoke hearts (not marinated)
1 pound spaghetti
big handful chopped flat-leaf parsley
kosher salt

In a very large skillet (or a Dutch oven), warm 1/4 cup of the olive oil over medium-high heat until very hot.

Add the anchovies and capers and cook, stirring occasionally, until anchovies are dissolved, about 3 minutes.

Add the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil, the olives, garlic and chili flakes and cook until the garlic is golden, about 3 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons water to the pan. Remove from the heat.

In a large pot of well-salted boiling water, cook the pasta according to the package directions.

Toss the spaghetti into the skillet with the caper-anchovy mixture. Add in the jar of artichoke hearts, if using.
Warm over medium heat another 1 to 2 minutes, adding additional pasta water if the sauce seems dry.