Sunday, September 24, 2006

Good stuff


Dinner 8-18
Originally uploaded by paintedbooklady.
4 medium garlic cloves, minced to paste or pressed through garlic press (1 packed tablespoon)
1 tablespoon water
Salt
1 package (16 ounces) spaghetti
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 teaspoons anchovies, minced (about 8 fillets)
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, drained, 1/2 cup juice reserved
3 tablespoons capers, rinsed
1/2 cup black olives (such as Gaeta, Alfonso or Kalamata), pitted and chopped coarse (see note)
1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, minced

Bring 4 quarts water to rolling boil in large Dutch oven or stockpot. Meanwhile, mix garlic with 1 tablespoon water in small bowl; set aside.

When water is boiling, add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta; stir to separate pasta.

Immediately heat oil, garlic mixture, red pepper flakes and anchovies in large skillet over medium heat; cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is fragrant but not brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and simmer until slightly thickened, about 8 minutes.

Cook pasta until al dente. Drain, then return pasta to pot; add 1/4 cup reserved tomato juice (from canned tomatoes) and toss to combine.

Stir capers, olives and parsley into sauce. Pour sauce over pasta and toss to combine, adding more tomato juice to moisten if necessary. Adjust seasonings with salt; serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings.

The brushetta is simply italian bread topped with sun dried tomatoes and thick grated parmesan baked at 400 for a few minutes.

I wasn't sure about anchovies. They scare me a little. Really, they smell bad. But in the sauce they are amazing. It's a nice simple dish that is very filling.

You could also add a green salad and bottle of wine.

2 comments:

Megan said...

Love the blog! Love Puttanesca (or however it's spelled!) I wasn't sure about anchovies either, but Cooks Illustrated inspired me -- now we eat it almost every week. We're building up the kids' tolerance for red pepper flakes. How y'all been?

paintedbooklady said...

You were totally the one that made me give it a try! So yummy.

Not up to much. I'm working at both store now 5 days a week so I'm busy.

I miss you though. Maybe I can drop by for a few hours on my way to work soon. I'll e-mail you with details.