Spaghetti Puttanesca

In prep to my visit to Italy, I'm making some Italian food this month. I started with a super easy and super delicious recipe; Spaghetti Puttanesca.

I love all the components of this recipe individually. Together they make a mouthwatering, delicious meal. I got a bit carried away with the red pepper flakes though. My mouth was on fire for a while after.

This is an Everyday Food recipe (a magazine created by Martha Stewart). Sadly the magazine is no longer in publication.

Spaghetti Puttanesca
Recipe from Everyday Food

Courtesy of Everyday Food

Serves 6 (I reset the recipe to make for one)

1 pound spaghetti     

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

6 rinsed anchovies, (optional)

1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes, and their juice

2 tablespoons capers

1/2 cup chopped pitted kalamata olives

Cook spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water according to package instructions; drain; return to pot.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, crushed red pepper, and anchovies, if desired, mashing them with a wooden spoon. Cook, stirring, until garlic is fragrant, 2 minutes.

Add whole tomatoes and their juice, breaking up tomatoes with hands. Stir in capers and olives. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer until thickened, 5 to 10 minutes. Toss with pasta; season with salt and pepper.

Two things. First, I chose to not include the anchovies only because I didn't have any on hand AND I didn't want to spend any more $$. Anchovies would make this dish even better. When you cook anchovies they become almost nutty, not fishy at all. I would recommend making it with them.

The other thing is adding something like chicken to this would make this even more hearty. If I had chicken on hand I would have sautéed it up in chunks and added it to the mix.