Main dish

Jamie Oliver's 30 Minute Meals: Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca recipe

Name: Jamie Oliver's 30 Minute Meals: Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 500g dried spaghetti; small tin of tuna in olive oil (around 150-200g); 2 cloves of garlic; 1 tbsp capers, drained; small tin of anchovies in olive oil (approx 30g); 1-2 fresh red chillis; 1 handful of fresh parsley; 1 handful of pitted black olives; 2 tins of chopped tomatoes (800g); a pinch of ground cinnamon; salt and pepper; 1 lemon; 1 ciabatta loaf; small handful of fresh parsley; salt and pepper; 2-4 cloves of garlic (to taste); extra virgin olive oil; 200g dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids); knob of butter; 300ml single cream; 3 clementines; a pinch of salt; biscuits for dipping

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Pasta with tuna, tomatoes, anchovies and capers. The garlic bread is fantastic - I'm always amazed that it contains no butter.

Prep30m
Cook10m
Total40m

30-min-meals chocolate italian jamie-oliver pasta

Spaghetti all puttanesca, garlic bread & ganache

This dish was at the top of my "must cook" list from the 30 Minute Meals book, mainly because of the anchovies and olives. Col was less enthused but regardless of whether you're an anchovy fan or not, it's a brilliant recipe.

As with all the dishes I’ve cooked that contain anchovies (Summer Veg Lasagne, Baked Cannelloni, Caramelised Shallot Pasta) there's no overwhelming taste of fishiness but if you’d prefer to leave them out then add a few more capers.

The garlic bread tastes delicious and it’s almost unbelievable that it contains no butter. I’ve made it many times since to go with other dishes.

This dish works well with white or wholewheat spaghetti and is mainly made from ingredients you'd find in your cupboard; convenient if you haven’t been shopping in a while*.

★ ★ ★

* Jamie Oliver’s version of puttanesca contains a few fresh ingredients like parsley, chilli and lemon but I’ve cooked the dish without them and it still tastes great.

Recipe credit

30 Minute Meals (affiliate link) by Jamie Oliver.

Recipe

Jamie Oliver's 30 Minute Meals: Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca

Prep30m
Cook10m
Total40m

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Puttanesca

500g dried spaghetti
small tin of tuna in olive oil (around 150-200g)
2 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp capers, drained
small tin of anchovies in olive oil (approx 30g)
1-2 fresh red chillis
1 handful of fresh parsley
1 handful of pitted black olives
2 tins of chopped tomatoes (800g)
a pinch of ground cinnamon
salt and pepper
1 lemon

Garlic Bread

1 ciabatta loaf
small handful of fresh parsley
salt and pepper
2-4 cloves of garlic (to taste)
extra virgin olive oil

Ganache

200g dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
knob of butter
300ml single cream
3 clementines
a pinch of salt
biscuits for dipping

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan) and fill and boil the kettle. Place a large frying pan on a low heat and fill a saucepan with the boiled water and a pinch of salt.
Garlic ciabatta: Slice 1 ciabatta loaf three quarters deep, making cuts at 2cm intervals, and then finely chop a small handful of fresh parsley. Scrunch up a large piece of greaseproof paper and dampen it under a tap. Open it up on a flat surface, oil it and place the bread on top. Sprinkle the parsley over the top with a pinch of salt and pepper and then pour over a generous drizzle of olive oil. Crush 2-4 garlic cloves on top and then smear the mixture over the bread, making sure it gets inside all of the incisions. Finally, wrap the bread up in the greaseproof paper and put it into the oven to cook for around 20 minutes.
Chocolate ganache: Place a large heatproof bowl on top of the saucepan with the boiling water (making sure that the water doesn't touch the bowl). Break up 200g of dark chocolate and place it in the bowl, along with a knob of butter, 300ml of single cream, a pinch of salt and the grated zest from 1 clementine. Give everything a good stir and leave it to melt.
Spaghetti: Put 500g of spaghetti into the saucepan and cook it according to the instructions on the packet. Pour the oil from a tin of tuna into the frying pan and then crush 2 cloves of garlic, adding it to the frying pan along with 1 tablespoons of capers, the anchovies from a 50g tin and their oil (don't be alarmed if it looks like there is a lot of oil).
Chop 1-2 red chillis (seeds optional) and stalks from the parsley then add them to the frying pan. Chop the parsley leaves and put them to one side. Once the garlic starts to get a little colour, add the tuna, breaking it up a little, then add a handful of pitted black olives, 2 tins of tomatoes (800g), a pinch of cinnamon and some black pepper.
Chocolate ganache: The chocolate should have melted by now so remove it from the heat and give it a good stir. Decant the mixture into small pots or espresso cups, then halve the remaining clementines and put them on a board along with the biscuits and ganache. Take them to the dinner table then check on the bread.
Spaghetti: Once the pasta has cooked, drain it and reserve some of the water. Add the pasta to the frying pan, then squeeze over the juice from 1 lemon and add most of the parsley, mixing well. If the sauce feels very thick add some of the reserved spaghetti water to loosen it up. Pour the spaghetti into a large bowl and finish with the remaining parsley.
Garlic ciabatta: Remove the bread from the oven and then take it to the table along with the spaghetti. Enjoy with a bottle of red wine.