Sunday, January 31, 2010

Pasta Puttanesca

4.5 Stars
Weekly Rotation


I was looking for a dish that fit into the "Blue Zone".  For a few weeks in the summer I followed the Blue Zone and I felt wonderful. I had so much energy, good mood, and I lost some weight.  It was great.  The down side of the blue zone is that being a meat eater, I didn't have a lot of vegetarian dishes.

When I googled "Mediterranean Meals" I found this recipe on Food Network from Ellie Krieger.  I forgot to buy arugula.  I also just bought a jar of black olives and I had to make my own anchovy paste, but otherwise I made it exactly as her recipe.

Ingredients


8 oz. whole-wheat thin spaghetti
1 T. extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 c. chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 c. pitted chopped Spanish or Greek olives (I used Black Olives)
2 T. Capers
1 t. anchovy paste
1 T. Fresh Oregano leaves or 1 t. dried (I used dried)
1/8 t. crushed red pepper flakes
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes, preferably "no salt added"
3/4 c. chopped fresh arugula (I forgot this and it tasted fine without it)
1/4 c. grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add pasta and cook according to the directions on the package.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large skillet over a medium flame.  Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the parsley, olives, capers, anchovy paste, oregano and crushed red pepper to the skillet and saute for 2 minutes more.

Add the tomatoes and simmer for about 5 minutes.


Stir in the arugula and simmer for 1 minute more, until the greens wilt slightly.

When the pasta is done, drain it and add it to the skillet, tossing it with the sauce to combine.

Top with grated cheese.


This dish was so good! On the website, it says it takes 12 minutes. It took me about 20 because I didn't time my pasta cooking correctly with my sauce cooking.  I made this dish on a weekend because I was afraid it would be labor intensive, but it was a breeze and would be so easy to make with the kids underfoot.

Enjoy!




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