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Orecchiette Puttanesca with Tuna and White Beans
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This hearty pasta dinner is from Milk Street Community member Karen Waldman of Brookfield, Connecticut. Bold, briny puttanesca sauce finds delicious partners in creamy white beans and flaked tuna. This recipe is a one-pot wonder. First we boil the pasta, drain it, then use the same pot to make the sauce. Waldman prefers orecchiette pasta because the small saucer shapes catch bits of the olives, capers and tuna. She also likes to keep the consistency on the “soupy” side; stir in additional pasta water at the end to adjust the consistency to suit your taste.
4-6
Servings
Tip
Don’t forget to rinse and drain the beans. If their starchy liquid makes it into the pot, it will turn the sauce thick and heavy. Don’t worry about removing the garlic cloves after they’re lightly browned. They’ll soften and break apart slightly as the sauce cooks.
30 minutes
1 pound orecchiette pasta
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to serve
2 medium garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup pitted green or black olives (or a combination), roughly chopped
¼ cup drained capers, rinsed and patted dry
28 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand
15½ ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
5 ounce can olive oil-packed tuna, drained and flaked
⅓ cup lightly packed fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Ingredients
-
1
pound orecchiette pasta
-
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
-
1
tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to serve
-
2
medium garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
-
1
teaspoon red pepper flakes
-
1
cup pitted green or black olives (or a combination), roughly chopped
-
¼
cup drained capers, rinsed and patted dry
-
28
ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand
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15½
ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
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5
ounce can olive oil-packed tuna, drained and flaked
-
⅓
cup lightly packed fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Directions
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01In a large pot, bring 4 quarts water to a boil. Stir in the pasta and 1 tablespoon salt, then cook, stirring occasionally, until just shy of al dente. Reserve 2½ cups of the cooking water, then drain.
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02In the same pot over medium, combine the oil and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is light golden brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Add the pepper flakes, olives and capers. Increase to medium-high and cook, stirring, until the capers begin to brown, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes with juices along with the beans, then cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is slightly thickened, 3 to 4 minutes.
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03Stir in 1½ cups of the reserved water and bring to a simmer over medium-high. Add the orecchiette and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is al dente, 2 to 4 minutes; add more reserved water if needed to thin. Taste and season with salt and black pepper. Off heat, stir in the tuna and parsley. Serve drizzled with additional oil.
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Reviews
June 1, 2023
Tasty and filling
I really liked this! I think I might try adding some anchovies to the sauce to give a little more of a briny taste. The 1 tsp of red pepper flakes makes a spicy puttanesca sauce but the heat goes down once you add the pasta. You will definitely need to add some salt at the end.
January 6, 2024
Meh.
I really wanted to like this and all the ingredients looked great on their own. But the whole dish together was just ok. It needed something to make it pop, but I'm not sure what that is.
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