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Penne Puttanesca with Basil Crumbs

Penne Puttanesca with Basil Crumbs

By OcadoLifePublished on 04 November 2022Variations on puttanesca sauce have grown to be one of the most popular pasta sauces around. This is because you can find most of the key ingredients in your cupboard, without having to get in anything fresh. Here the puttanesca is added to penne and sprinkled with basil crumbs (breadcrumbs fried with basil pesto) by chef, food stylist and food writer, Rosie Reynolds. As the author of The Shortcut Cook, Rosie knows all about snipping down recipe preparation times. Here she uses garlic and chilli pastes, plus anchovy and basil pesto to add punch flavours in seconds. You can swap the anchovy for miso if you want a veggie version. Quick, but so good you can serve it to guests.
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Time and servings

25 minsTotal time
4Servings
5 minsPrep time
20 minsCooking time

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp of basil pesto
  • 1 tbsp of olive oil, plus at least 2 tbsp for the basil crumbs
  • 2 tbsp of garlic paste
  • 1.5 tbsp of anchovy purée
  • 2 tsp of chilli paste
  • 3 tbsp of tomato purée
  • 1 tsp of dried oregano
  • 400 g of dried penne pasta
  • 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp of baby capers
  • 1 ciabatta roll, (about 125g), in small pieces
  • 25 g of basil, torn, to serve (optional)
  • 100 g of black pitted olives, halved

Method

  • Step 1

    Fill a kettle with water and bring to the boil. Heat the olive oil in a large pan set over a medium heat. Add the garlic paste, anchovy purée and chilli paste, and fry for 1 min. Add the tomato purée, dried oregano and pasta. Tip in the chopped tomatoes, then fill both tins with water and add the water to the pan with the olives and capers. Stir, then bring to the boil. Cook for 8-10 mins, stirring frequently so the pasta doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Cook until the pasta is tender and the sauce clings to it.

  • Step 2

    Meanwhile, for the basil crumbs, heat the olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan set over a medium-high heat. Add the basil pesto and the breadcrumbs and stir. Fry for 3-5 mins, until the crumbs are crisp and golden. Remove from the heat.

  • Step 3

    Serve the pasta sprinkled with some basil crumbs, a handful of torn basil leaves if you like, and a drizzle of olive oil.