Le Zucchine

Method:

A lively sauce from the cupboard

Puttanesca is the pasta for an evening when you want something bold without a long shopping list. Tomatoes bring sweetness, olives and capers bring bite, and anchovies melt quietly into the background. This anchovy version serves four and takes about 30 minutes. Have some bread ready for the sauce left on the plate; it would be a pity to leave it behind.

Get everything ready

Drain and roughly chop the tomatoes, keeping their juice. Pit the olives and halve them. Rinse capers packed in brine; if using salted capers, soak them for 10 minutes, changing the water, then rinse and drain. Peel and lightly crush the garlic. Chop the parsley, keeping it for the finish.

Warm the oil in a wide frying pan with the garlic and chilli over low heat for two minutes. Add the anchovies and stir until they dissolve. Keep the garlic pale: its job is to scent the oil, and burnt edges would make the whole sauce bitter.

Let the sauce come together

Add tomatoes and their juice, olives and capers. Simmer uncovered for 12–15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes lose their raw taste and the sauce thickens but remains juicy. Remove the garlic cloves. Taste before adding any salt, because the olives, capers and anchovies may have supplied all you need.

Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in lightly salted water. Reserve a mug of cooking water and drain the pasta about a minute before it reaches al dente. Transfer it to the sauce with a small splash of the reserved water.

Toss and serve

Toss over medium heat for one minute, until the pasta is al dente and the sauce clings to it. Add another spoonful of water if it looks dry, then fold in the parsley. Serve immediately in warm bowls. The finished dish should be tomato-rich and pleasantly salty, with the olives and capers still distinct; there is no need to cover those lively flavours with cheese.