Happy New Year! I hope your 2023 is off to a strong start. To be honest, the past few days have been a little rough for me. But I’m trying to keep my spirits high and see the silver lining in everything.
While I haven’t had much of an appetite, I made myself this quick and easy one-pot pasta puttanesca. It’s the perfect dish to prepare when you’re feeling down in the dumps – and the primo piatto may even pick you up out of a slump.
One-pot pasta puttanesca is simple but flavorful, thanks to the addition of bold spices (like cumin and smoked paprika) and briny capers and olives. And, because chickpeas stand in for anchovies, the mélange is quite substantial and filling.
Recipe adapted from Ottolenghi Flavor: A Cookbook.
- 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 15 oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 6 garlic cloves, smashed
- 2 teaspoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1¾ teaspoons smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon Aleppo pepper
- 1¼ teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 1½ teaspoons caraway seeds, lightly crushed
- 2 cups chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- ¾ cup pitted green olives, like Castelvetrano or Frescatrano, torn into ½" pieces
- 3 tablespoons capers, drained
- 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 9 ounces shells or other short pasta
- 2 cups chicken broth
- ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons water
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- In a large pot, warm 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add chickpeas, garlic, tomato paste, cumin, smoked paprika, Aleppo pepper and ½ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until chickpeas start to brown, about 12 minutes. Transfer ½ cup of the chickpeas to a small bowl and set aside.
- Add caraway seeds to pot and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- In a small bowl, combine the next four ingredients (parsley through lemon zest). Add two-thirds of the parsley mixture to pot along with tomatoes and sugar and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes.
- Add pasta, chicken broth, water and remaining ¾ teaspoon salt. Stir and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid reduces, 7-8 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in remaining parsley mixture. Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and top with reserved chickpeas. Season with pepper to taste and serve immediately.
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