Vegan Spaghetti alla Puttanesca
Vegan Spaghetti alla Puttanesca is a warm, spicy tomato pasta with capers, olives, chili flakes, and parsley. Perfect for a warm vegan dinner but refreshing and light enough you can add it to your summer vegan recipe catalogue.
This traditional spicy Italian pasta, spaghetti alla puttanesca, is a staple of many households - it’s both perfectly warm and refreshingly light, making it a perfect all-around dish. Peppered with olives, capers, and chili flakes, then tossed with a light tomato sauce and parsley for a spectacularly simple but beautifully elegant vegan dish.
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Before We Get Started
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 Minutes
Total Time: 20 Minutes
Ingredients
1/2 Yellow Onion
3 Garlic Cloves
1 tbsp. Capers
3/4 tsp. Dried Red Chili Flakes
14 oz. Diced Tomatoes
300g Spaghetti
Or pasta of choice
10 Olives, pitted
Parsley
Recipe
Fill a large pot with water, and a good amount of salt. Bring to a boil.
A general rule of thumb for pasta water is that it should be as salty as the ocean. Remember, the pasta isn’t absorbing all of the water like rice, so it takes more salt to impart flavour into the pasta.
Place a pan over medium-high heat with a good splash of oil.
Finely dice your onion and garlic, then add to them your preheated pan with a good pinch of salt and some pepper. Cook until fragrant and translucent (approx. 2-3 minutes, stirring routinely to avoid colouring the onions).
Add your capers to the pan, and stir for approx. 1 minute, before adding your chili flakes and stirring rapidly for another 30 seconds.
We don’t want the chilis to burn, so moving them about the pan quickly toasts them without charring them.
Add your diced tomatoes to the pan with a good pinch of salt. Set a timer for 10 minutes, and reduce your heat to a simmer.
Once your pasta water has reached a boil, read the cooking instructions on the package for the pasta. If it says:
7 minutes = Cook for 6 minutes
9 minutes = Cook for 8 minutes.
120 minutes = 119 minutes
We always cook the pasta for 1 minute less than the recommended time, because the last minute of cooking will happen in the pan.
Look at your timer for your tomato sauce. If you’re cooking your pasta for 6 minutes, wait until the timer reads 6 minutes left before putting it into the pot to boil.
6. Drop your pasta into the pot according to the time left on the timer, stirring occasionally to stop the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pan and to each other.
7. While your pasta is cooking, slice your olives and finely dice your parsley. Add your olives into the pan.
8. When the timer goes off, use tongs to grab the pasta and put directly into your pasta sauce pan. Give the pan a toss to coat the pasta, then add 2 tbsp. of the pasta water into the pan, and toss again.
9. Taste for seasoning, and add more salt and pepper as needed. Scoop into a bowl, and garnish with parsley.
10. Enjoy
Spruce it Up
Change up the quantities of the ingredients you use - if you like it a little spicier, use a full teaspoon of chili flakes. If you like olives, slice 15 instead of 10. Change the recipe as need be.
To make this dish extra luxurious, drizzle with high-quality extra virgin olive oil at the end, and always use fresh cracked black pepper. It makes a world of difference.
Try with different kinds of pasta. I used spaghetti but this dish will be great with whatever kind of pasta you like.