Blonde Puttanesca a la Browning

This recipe is stolen, ahem, adapted from a NYT recipe and has become a Browning family staple. As with most thing in life, the Brownings got ahold of the recipe and just dialed it up and dolled it up. It has a lot of the ingredients of a regular puttanesca, but with no tomato. The weight of the conservas and oils is lifted and brightened by the lemon, peppery arugula and breadcrumbs. I think you’re going to love it. 

A note: my husband does not like olives, anchovies or tuna and he has claimed this as his favorite pasta of all time. 

Blonde Puttanesca a la Browning

Blonde Puttanesca a la Browning
Yield: Serves 4
Author:

A quick and sophisticated pasta that is soon to be a staple on your dining table.

Time

  • Prep: 15 mins
  • Cook: 15 mins
  • Total: 30 mins

Ingredients

  • 12 oz spaghetti (¾ of a box – I know this is annoying but if you have too much pasta your sauce will be really thrown off)
  • 3 TB olive oil
  • 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced into slivers
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 10-15 anchovies, minced + a little oil (note – the cheap anchovies don’t melt as well as they might – go for slightly nicer ones)
  • 3 heaped TB of capers + a little juice
  • ¾ cup green olives, chopped
  • 1 6oz jar of Italian tuna packed in olive oil
  • 5 oz arugula (a whole box!)
  • ¼ - ½ cup Italian parsley, roughly chopped
  • 1 cup panko
  • 1 lemon, zested and cut into segments
  • Flaky salt

Recipe

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the garlic slivers, red pepper flakes, anchovies (plus a little oil) and capers (plus a little vinegar). Sauté all together until anchovies are nicely melted and garlic is translucent.
  2. Add in olives. Flake in tuna and add some of the oil. Dump in the whole box of arugula, turn off heat and toss toss toss.
  3. Cook your spaghetti according to package directions. Reserve a scoop of pasta water even though we *probably* won’t need it.
  4. While the pasta is cooking toast the panko in a dry skillet until it’s golden brown. Grate in lemon zest. Cut the zested lemon into segments.
  5. Add cooked pasta to the tuna sauce. Then add chopped parsley. Using tongs toss the whole thing together, coating the spaghetti in the oils and adding a little of the pasta water if you think it needs it.
  6. Serve in bowls and top with toasted lemon panko. Finish with flaky salt and offer more chopped parsley or red pepper flakes.
DinnerMary Bell ClementComment