Pasta Puttanesca 🇮🇹

This is my take of the Italian Pasta Puttanesca traditionally featuring  olives, anchovies and capers.  I use my homemade Black Olive Tapenade, which has all three ingredients in it.  Fry some garlic with chopped tomatoes in olive oil and cook until saucy. Stir it into cooked pasta of your choice together with a few tablespoons of the tapenade, a little of the pasta water and grated Parmesan cheese.  The pasta will turn creamy with an interesting dark purplish colour.  The mild bitterness of black olives blends in perfect harmony with the saltiness of anchovies and the lemony tang of capers in the tapenade to give the pasta a depth of flavour unlike anything else.   Garnish with chopped basil leaves and dig in!

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

• 150g / 5¼oz pasta
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 1 small red capsicum, chopped
• 3-4 tablespoons black olive tapenade
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• ¼ cup basil leaves, chopped or torn

METHOD

1. Bring a medium saucepan of water to boil with a good pinch of salt.  Add the pasta and cook according to package directions until they are al dente (tender but firm with a little bite).  Drain and return to the pan with 2 tablespoons of the pasta water.
2. In a medium frying pan, heat oil with chopped garlic on medium and sauté until they begin to sizzle.  Add chopped capsicum and tomatoes and sauté for a few minutes until softened and a sauce begins to form.  Transfer mixture to pasta in the pan.  Mix gently with a pair of tongs to combine.
3. Stir in tapenade, Parmesan cheese and half of the basil leaves.  Toss to combine all ingredients.
4. Garnish with the remaining basil leaves before serving.