Don’t like anchovies? Put this in your puttanesca pasta instead, says Adam Liaw
Puttanesca pasta usually contains anchovies for its signature umami kick. But this one’s for the anchovy avoiders, replacing those little fishy friends with bacon instead.
Ingredients
5 tbsp olive oil
200g speck or thick bacon rashers, cut into thick lardons
3 garlic cloves, peeled and bruised
½ cup pitted black olives, roughly chopped
¼ cup drained capers, roughly chopped
½ tsp chilli flakes
400g whole peeled tomatoes
500g dried spaghetti
salt and black pepper, to season
2 tbsp finely shredded parsley
parmesan cheese, to serve
Method
Step 1
Bring a saucepan of salted water to a boil. Heat a very large frying pan over medium heat and add the olive oil. Fry the bacon and garlic for about 4 minutes until lightly browned, then add the olives, capers and chilli flakes and fry for about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and break them apart with your spoon. Cook for about 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove the garlic cloves.
Step 2
While the sauce is cooking, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the packet directions, checking about 2 minutes before the time recommended on the packet.
Step 3
When the pasta is al dente, drain and add it to the sauce, along with about ½ a cup of the pasta cooking water. Toss for about 1 minute on low-medium heat until the sauce is thick and coats the pasta. Stir the parsley through and serve with freshly ground black pepper and a generous amount of grated parmesan.
Adam’s tip: Bottled pasta sauces aren’t something I buy. If they’re 95 per cent tomato, it’s better to just purchase tomato passata and add better-quality ingredients such as speck, olives and capers yourself. And at the end of the day, the simpler the pasta, the better it tastes.
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Adam Liaw is a cookbook author and food writer, co-host of Good Food Kitchen and former MasterChef winner.
