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Summer Pasta Puttanesca

A refreshing yet satisfying summer pasta dish!
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4 Cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tablespoon anchovy paste it's the bacon of the sea
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 1/2 Lbs tomatoes grape or cherry
  • 1 pound Campanella
  • Kosher Salt
  • 1/2 cup kalamata olives pitted, chopped coarse
  • 3 Tablespoons capers rinsed and minced
  • 1/2 cup fresh parsley minced

Instructions
 

  • In a bowl combine oil, garlic, anchovy paste, pepper flakes and oregano. In a blender process the tomatoes until they are finely chopped but not in a puree, this will take about 15 - 20 seconds. Transfer the tomatoes through a fine-mesh strainer set over a large bowl and let it drain for about 5 minutes, occasionally with a rubber spatula press gently on the solids to extract as much of the liquid as possible. This should yield about 3/4 cup of tomato liquid. Reserve the tomato liquid in a separate bowl and the pulp in a strainer.
  • Bring 4 quarts of water to boil in a large pot. Add the campanelle pasta and about 1 tablespoon of salt to the water and allow to cook. Stir often, and cook the pasta until it is al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water, and then drain the pasta and return to the cooking pot.
  • In a 12-inch skillet on medium heat, cook the garlic-anchovy mixture, stir frequently just until the garlic is fragrant but not brown. This should take about 2-3 minutes. Add the tomato liquid and let simmer until reduced to 1/3 cup - this should take an additional 2-3 minutes. Add the tomato pulp, olives and capers; cook until just heated through, 2 to 3 minutes more of cooking time. Stir in the parsley.
  • Pour the sauce mixture over the Campanella and toss to combine, adding reserved cooking liquid as needed to adjust the consistency if the sauce is too thick. Season with salt to taste. Serve Immediately.

Notes

The preferred pasta is Campanella, however fusilli, orecchiette and bucattini (shown) pasta's also work. Cook's Country suggests to finely mash the anchovies fillets (rinsed and dried before mashing) can be used instead of anchovy paste. Also, buy good-quality black olives such as kalamata, Gaeta, or Alfonso varieties.
Adapted from Cook's Country