Puttanesca
Serves: 4
Prep time: 10 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Maja Smend
Puttanesca
Recipe by Leah Hyslop
This recipe comes from our food director Leah's mum. Leah says: ‘My mum is the queen of fast, delicious pasta dishes. Puttanesca is a classic Italian pasta with tomatoes, olives, capers and anchovies. Her version always included onions and spinach (to sneak extra veg onto our plates, no doubt), chunks of mozzarella and a splash of balsamic vinegar'
Serves: 4
Prep time: 10 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
633Kcal
Fat
18gr
Saturates
7gr
Carbs
86gr
Sugars
14gr
Fibre
9gr
Protein
27gr
Salt
2.5gr
Leah Hyslop
Leah Hyslop is the former Food Director of Sainsbury's magazine
See more of Leah Hyslop’s recipes
Leah Hyslop
Leah Hyslop is the former Food Director of Sainsbury's magazine
See more of Leah Hyslop’s recipes
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
- 1-2 garlic cloves, finely sliced or chopped
- 1 fresh or dried chilli, finely chopped (deseeded, if you wish)
- 1 x 50g tin anchovies in olive oil
- 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 2 tbsp pitted black olives, chopped or left whole
- 2 tbsp capers, drained
- a splash of balsamic vinegar
- 400g dried spaghetti
- 1 x 200g bag baby leaf spinach
- 1 x 28g pack fresh basil, roughly torn
- 1 x 150g ball mozzarella, drained and roughly chopped
Step by step
Get ahead
Cook to the end of step 2 up to 24 hrs ahead and chill, or freeze.
- Heat the oil over a medium heat in a large, deep frying pan with a lid, then add the onions, garlic, chilli and anchovies (including the oil, if you like). Fry, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes until soft.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and purée and bring to a simmer. Stir in the olives, capers and a splash of vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Cover with the lid, turn down the heat to low and cook for 15-20 minutes, topping up with a little water if needed.
- Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions. Drain, reserving a little of the pasta water in case your sauce is too thick.
- Add the spinach to the sauce and cook until just wilted. Stir in the pasta, the basil and a splash of the reserved pasta water, if needed.
- Quickly mix in the mozzarella so that it just starts to melt, then serve.
