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Spaghetti Puttanesca (Fast & Slow)
Most of us think of puttanesca as a tomato sauce built on anchovies. But in Naples, where it originates, the bold savoriness comes from briny olives and pungent capers, not from anchovies. We call for a generous amount of capers, which often are sold in small bottles or jars. When shopping, you will need to buy two 4-ounce bottles to get the ½ cup drained capers needed for this recipe.
4-6
Servings
Don't forget to save 1 cup of the juices when you drain the tomatoes. They, along with 4 cups of water, are the liquid that cooks the pasta.
45 minutes
25 minutes active
Ingredients
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3
tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
-
4
medium garlic cloves, finely grated
Directions
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01On a 6-quart Instant Pot, select More/High Sauté. Add 2 tablespoons of oil, the garlic and pepper flakes, then cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the olives and capers, then cook, stirring, until the capers begin to brown, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 8 minutes. Stir in the reserved tomato juices and 4 cups water, then distribute the mixture in an even layer. Add the pasta, placing the strands horizontally so they lay flat, then press them into the liquid.
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My husband made this tonight. One comment and one question from him ... when you add the reserved tomato juice and water make certain to stir everything in the pot together before you add the pasta. Otherwise you risk burning some of the the dish to the bottom of the pan (the instant pot will warn you that the dish may be burning while cooking under pressure). Ours did burn a bit and the pasta was pretty well done, certainly not al dente, following the instructions. Perhaps this is a result of the quality of the dried pasta.
If we are using homemade pasta versus dried pasta how does this change the instructions?