Filipino-Style Pasta Puttanesca
Break out from your usual pasta and try this Filipino-style Puttanesca! The sauce is deliciously aromatic and is uniquely made with tuyo (dried herring), freshly diced tomatoes, olives, and capers. It is an explosion of flavors in every bite!
Origin of Puttanesca
Puttanesca is an Italian pasta dish with a rich, flavorful sauce made from garlic, anchovies, tomatoes, olives, and capers.
Some would say that the dish has a somewhat scandalous backstory. Spaghetti alla puttanesca is an Italian phrase loosely translated to “pasta in the style of the prostitute.” It’s said that the pasta was created in one of Naples’ many brothels, and the name was derived from puttana, which means “prostitute” in Italian.
Another theory suggests Italians use puttana as an all-around profanity or generalized epithet. Pasta alla puttanesca might have originated from someone saying, “Throw whatever puttana you have from the cupboard into the pan.”
Filipino version
This Filipino-style spaghetti alla puttanesca uses tuyo, a salted, sun-dried fish, instead of anchovies. It’s a delicious mixture of flavors: salty from the tuyo, olives, capers, and tangy-sweet from the tomatoes.
The sauce is easy to make and can be readied while you wait for the noodles to cook. Sauté the aromatics in olive oil. Add the tuyo and the rest of the ingredients, simmer to build flavor, and then toss the noodles in. Stir until each noodle is covered with sauce, and you’re in for a delicious meal!
What you’ll need
- Tuyo– the salty dried fish takes the place of the traditional anchovies
- Tomatoes– fresh brings the best flavor, but canned diced tomatoes will work in a pinch
- Pasta- the recipe uses spaghetti, but other pasta, such as linguine, fettuccini, or penne, are also good options
- Olive oil– use extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) for the best flavor.
- Tomato Paste– adds a sweeter and richer flavor.
- Sugar- balances the sauce’s flavor by reducing the acidity of the tomatoes.
- Olives- use pitted green or black olives
- Capers– pickled flower buds of the Mediterranean shrub Capparis spinosa. They give the sauce a tart, briny flavor.
Cooking tips
- Using pasta water helps thicken the sauce as it contains starch from the noodles’ boiling process.
- Cook the noodles a minute or two shy of the package directions as they will continue to cook when added to the sauce.
- Add dried red chili flakes to the sauce if you want to to give your pasta puttanesca a kick of heat.
How to serve and store
- Serve this Filipino-style pasta puttanesca with Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley to boost flavor and color. Enjoy it with garlic bread and a side salad for a hearty and tasty meal.
- You can make the sauce ahead of time and refrigerate it for up to 3 days.
- For leftover pasta, store them in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Please note that noodles tend to absorb a lot of liquid, and the dish might turn dry and mushy over time.
- Reheat the pasta in a wide pan over medium heat. You can use tomato sauce to add back moisture. Adjust seasonings if needed.
Filipino-Style Pasta Puttanesca
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 5 pieces tuyo (dried herring)
- water
- 4 pieces tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 12 ounces spaghetti noodles, dry
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 onion, small, peeled and chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 cup olives, pitted
- 2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained
- parsley
- parmesan
Instructions
- In a pan over medium heat, heat oil. Add tuyo until lightly browned. Set aside.
- Score the tomatoes.
- In a pot over medium heat, bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add tomatoes and cook for about 30 seconds or until skins are loosened.
- Remove from pot and blanch in iced water until cooled. Peel the skin, remove seeds, and chop. Set aside.
- In another pot over medium heat, add 4 cups of water and salt. Bring to a boil. Add spaghetti noodles. Cook pasta until al dente.
- Remove from heat and drain well. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water.
- Debone tuyo, flake meat, and coarsely chop fried tuyo. Set aside.
- In another pan over medium, heat 1/4 cup olive oil. Add onions and garlic. Cook until softened.
- Add tuyo flakes, tomato paste, tomatoes, sugar, olives, and capers. Stir to combine.
- Add 1 cup pasta water and simmer.
- Add cooked pasta. Stir until coated with sauce.
- Transfer to serving plates. Top with Parmesan cheese and garnish with chopped parsley.
Video
Notes
- Cook the noodles a minute or two shy of the package directions as they will continue to cook when added to the sauce.
- Add dried red chili flakes to the sauce if you want to give your pasta puttanesca a kick of heat.
