Pasta Puttanesca

5 from 2 votes

This easy Salmon Pasta Puttanesca is a bold, briny weeknight pasta with tomatoes, olives, capers, and garlic, ready in 30 minutes and perfect for leftover salmon.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: people

Author: Gaby Dalkin

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
6 cloves garlic roughly chopped
2 anchovy filets chopped
28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 cup cooked salmon roughly an 8 ounce fillet
½ cup pitted black olives rough chop
½ cup pitted castelvetrano olives rough chop
2 tablespoons capers
Crushed red pepper flakes to taste
1 pound fettuccine
Chopped fresh parsley for garnish
Torn fresh basil leaves for garnish

Instructions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
In a large skillet, warm the olive oil with the garlic and anchovies over medium low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is lightly golden and the anchovies begin to melt, about 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the drained crushed tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, and raise the heat to medium high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes break down and the mixture thickens into a sauce, about 10 minutes.
Stir in the flaked salmon, black olives, Castelvetrano olives, capers, and red pepper flakes. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently while the pasta cooks.
Cook the fettuccine according to package directions until al dente. Reserve about ½ cup pasta water, then drain the pasta.
Add the pasta directly to the sauce and toss to coat, adding a splash of reserved pasta water if needed to loosen the sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning. Garnish with chopped parsley and torn basil, and serve immediately.

Notes

Use good-quality canned tomatoes. This sauce is simple, so the tomatoes matter. San Marzano-style if you can find them.
Don’t skimp on the garlic and anchovies. They melt into the sauce and create deep, savory flavor without tasting fishy.
Let the anchovies dissolve fully. Mash them into the oil until they disappear. That’s where the magic umami comes from.
Bloom the chili flakes in oil. Adding them early helps release their flavor and gives the sauce a subtle kick.
Add olives and capers toward the end. This keeps them bright and briny instead of overcooked and dull.
Salt carefully. Between olives, capers, and anchovies, this dish already has salt built in. Taste before adding more.
Cook the pasta just shy of al dente. It’ll finish cooking in the sauce and soak up all that bold flavor.
Reserve plenty of pasta water. A splash helps emulsify the sauce and coat every noodle beautifully.
Finish with fresh herbs. Parsley adds freshness and balances the richness.
Serve immediately. Puttanesca is best hot and glossy, right out of the pan.

Nutrition