Healthy Spaghetti Puttanesca Recipe: Just 325 Calories
We've lightened up the classic Spaghetti Puttanesca with sensible pasta portions and less fat! Still delicious and oh so nutritious.
Ingredients
- 3 oz olives black—gaeta or kalamata are best
- 5 tbsp capers
- 4 filets anchovies spine removed (if necessary)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 whole fresh red chili pepper or to taste
- 1 handful flat leaf Italian parsley minced
- 14 oz whole peeled tomatoes crushed
- 1 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- fine salt if needed to taste
- 8 oz pasta spaghetti, vermicelli or penne
Instructions
Rinse or Soak Olives and Capers
- Rinse the olives and capers well. Better yet, let them soak in water for 30 minutes to remove excess salt and/or vinegar.3 oz olives, 5 tbsp capers
Prepare the Ingredients
- Roughly chop the olives.
- Mince the garlic and red chili pepper.2 cloves garlic, 1 whole fresh red chili pepper
- Remove the seeds from the inside of whole peeled tomatoes. Mash or purée the tomato pulp until it is the consistency of crushed tomatoes.14 oz whole peeled tomatoes
- Mince the parsley.1 handful flat leaf Italian parsley
Make a Soffritto
- Cover the bottom of a large skillet with olive oil. Over medium heat, add the minced garlic, pepper and anchovy filets. Mash the anchovy filets with a fork or back of a spoon to help it dissolve into the oil. Sauté until the garlic is golden.NOTE: This photo is from the full-fat version of the recipe. You'll have less olive oil than shown here.4 filets anchovies, 1 tbsp olive oil
Add the Tomato, Olives, Capers
- Add the tomato sauce.
- Stir in the capers and olives—leaving aside some of each for decorating the finished dish.
- Simmer the sauce for a few minutes. Then salt to taste (only if needed). In the meantime...fine salt
Cook the Pasta
- Cook the pasta a minute less than the time required for al dente pasta on the package instructions.8 oz pasta
Finish with Pasta and Parsley
- Drain and transfer the pasta to the sauce along with ½ ladle of hot pasta water. Cook the pasta with the sauce for about a minute until the pasta is al dente.
- Add the minced parsley and stir to combine.
- Buon appetito!
Notes
Rinse or Soak the Olives and Capers!
Olives and capers are very salt and may also be strong in vinegar depending on the product you purchase.
Give the olives and capers a good rinse before adding them to the sauce. Better yet? Soak them for about 30 minutes in filtered water to remove excess salt and vinegar.
Taste Before Adding Salt!
Anchovies, olives and capers all bring quite a bit of salt to this pasta sauce. Taste before adding salt to the finished sauce.
You may even want to salt the pasta water less than usual to account for these salty ingredients!
Nutrition
Sodium: 752mgSugar: 5.5gPotassium: 365mgCholesterol: 3.8mgCalories: 322kcalMonounsaturated Fat: 3.8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.5gSaturated Fat: 1gFat: 10gProtein: 10gCarbohydrates: 49g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!