This is good. Really good.

 

I am married to the love of my life, who also happens to be a veg-aquarian. Who only really eats fish to be polite. So for a girl who comes from a long line of carnivores (we're farming stock, after all), that meant a whole lot of head scratching when it came to dreaming up dinner choices. Six years on, I'm proud to say I have the vegie dinner thing sussed, with a whole swag of meat-free recipes now filling my cooking repertoire. One of my newer additions is this Penne Puttanesca dish, courtesy of Mario Batali (arguably one of the most recognized and respected chefs working in America today). It's insanely delish. One forkfull of this and you'll (almost) never think about bolognese again.

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Penne Alla Puttanesca
Recipe Courtesy of Mario Batali

Makes 6 servings

8 to 10 salt-packed anchovy fillets
Kosher salt
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 medium red onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  2 cans diced tomatoes

Tomato paste
1-1/2 to 2 teaspoons hot red pepper flakes
1 pound penne
2 tablespoons capers

1/3 cup pitted Gaeta olives, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh Italian parsley
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano for serving

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Drain the anchovies, pat dry, and coarsely chop them.

Bring water to a boil in a large pot and add 3 tablespoons kosher salt.

Meanwhile, combine the oil, onion, garlic, and anchovies in another large pot and cook over medium heat, stirring, until the onion is lightly browned and the anchovies have broken down, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. 

Remove from the heat. Drop the pasta into the boiling water and cook until just al dente. Drain, reserving 3/4 cup of the past water. Add the pasta and the reserved pasta water to the tomato mixture and stir and toss over medium heat until the pasta is well coated. 

Stir in the capers, olives, and parsley and serve immediately, with grated Parmigiano on the side.

Image + Recipe: www.mariobatali.com