Garlicky Puttanesca Pasta Salad
I spotted this recipe on the Food and Wine website – a recipe by Ann Taylor Pittman, published on 08-2019. Just the word “puttanesca” got my attention since it’s probably my favorite pasta if I was forced to choose.
I was curious about this recipe. What makes this pasta a salad? It utilizes casarecce shaped pasta, cherry tomatoes, olives, garlic, anchovies, prosciutto, and capers. The difference is that a vinaigrette is added! I had to make it.
If you want to know more about Ann Taylor Pittman, she has a website. She has published one cookbook on her own, titled
Everyday Whole Grains, and one for Cooking Light magazine, co-authored with Scott Mowbray, which garnered a James Beard award.
I’ve recently learned about real Sicilian capers, and used these in this recipe, thanks to Amazon, of course.
Warm, Garlicky Puttanesca Pasta Salad
Printable recipe below
1 pound cherry tomatoes, halved
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup minced shallot (from 1 medium shallot)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 large garlic clove, grated
12 ounces uncooked casarecce pasta
4 (1/2-ounce) prosciutto slices
3 oil-packed anchovies, finely chopped
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
1/2 cup coarsely chopped Castelvetrano olives
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
2 tablespoons drained nonpareil capers
Fresh basil leaves, for garnish
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper, for garnish (optional)
Place tomatoes in a medium bowl; sprinkle with salt and ground pepper, and toss to combine. Add shallot, oil, vinegar, and garlic; toss well. Let stand at room temperature at least 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook pasta in salted water according to package directions. Reserve 1 cup cooking liquid; drain pasta.
Place 2 prosciutto slices on paper towels on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave on HIGH until crisp, 1 minute and 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Repeat with remaining 2 prosciutto slices.
Drain tomato mixture over a bowl, reserving liquid. Combine warm pasta, anchovies, tomato liquid, and 1/3 cup cooking liquid in a large skillet over medium-high. Cook until sauce slightly thickens and coats pasta, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
Stir in drained tomato mixture, sliced basil, olives, oregano, and capers. Crumble prosciutto over pasta; garnish with basil leaves and, if desired, cracked pepper.
Believe it or not, this didn’t turn out quite as well as I’d hoped.
I love all of the elements, but it somehow didn’t work. I think I miss the sauciness of Puttanesca.
And I wasn’t comparing it to pasta puttanesca, because there was no real similarity.
However, you might like it!
Warm Puttanesca Pasta Salad
1 pound cherry tomatoes, halved
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup minced shallot (from 1 medium shallot)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 large garlic clove, grated
12 ounces uncooked casarecce pasta
4 (1/2-ounce) prosciutto slices
3 oil-packed anchovies, finely chopped
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
1/2 cup coarsely chopped Castelvetrano olives
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
2 tablespoons drained nonpareil capers
Fresh basil leaves, for garnish
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper, for garnish (optional)
Place tomatoes in a medium bowl; sprinkle with salt and ground pepper, and toss to combine. Add shallot, oil, vinegar, and garlic; toss well. Let stand at room temperature at least 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook pasta in salted water according to package directions. Reserve 1 cup cooking liquid; drain pasta.
Place 2 prosciutto slices on paper towels on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave on HIGH until crisp, 1 minute and 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Repeat with remaining 2 prosciutto slices.
Drain tomato mixture over a bowl, reserving liquid. Combine warm pasta, anchovies, tomato liquid, and 1/3 cup cooking liquid in a large skillet over medium-high. Cook until sauce slightly thickens and coats pasta, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in drained tomato mixture, sliced basil, olives, oregano, and capers. Crumble prosciutto over pasta; garnish with basil leaves and, if desired, cracked pepper.
I think it probably has all the makings of a Puttanesca sauce but I generally like it hot. But if you think of it as a salad then I’m sure it will be lovely.
The comment box is only showing 1/4” line and I can’t see what I have written. Hope it makes sense. Rather disconcerting not to be able to see what you’ve written. :))
I’m sorry. I hate when stuff like that happens.
I like the not-saucy look of this – very appealing! I, too, love puttanesca – one of the first sauces I learned to make.
I don’t know why this didn’t work for me. Maybe I prefer the pasta as a warm dish?
I guess I look at it as a completely different dish. I don’t eat many pasta salads — most are just “meh.” But, if I were to eat one, this appeals a lot.
I do like them! I guess I love all the goodies in pasta salads! But this one was only meh to me. Go figure!
Anchovies make Puttanesca the great dish it is. And most people don’t even know they are eating anchovies
I know! They just assume they’re horrible!
I think it’s just not a warm puttanesca. I am just not sure!!!
This is also one of my favourite pastas. But I just cannot eat a pasta salad. I don’t like cold pasta at all.
This wasn’t cold. That would have been terrible.
so many flavours going on here mimi. sounds amazing and looks colourful.
Thanks, Sherry!
By funny coincidence we had puttanesca just last night. The “regular” kind, that is which we love. I think I’d really like this dish but without the vinaigrette. As a sort of puttanesca “a crudo”.
I love puttanesca. I love vinaigrettes. They just didn’t go well together.
I love how easy this is. Perfect for a weeknight meal.
Love this take on Putanesca, which, at least for me, means cooked tomato sauce based dish.
Interestingly, this was a pasta salad week for me as well. Maybe it’s something in the air! :)
I think it’s just a summer thing!
Yes, I agree great. Great ingredients, but somehow it just didn’t work for me! Moving on!
Probably one of my favorite pastas is puttanesca, so the idea of this sure appeals to me. Too bad it wasn’t quite what you had hoped for. Nice idea, though. And thanks for the info on those capers! I need to get some. :-)
Mine, too, but it somehow didn’t work for me as a salad. I’ll stick with the original!
Ohhh what a nice summer pasta salad, its getting hot in here so I will be trying this out soon. Love a nice putanesca
And here I’m counting the minutes till cooler weather!
I can see how you might be a little disappointed if you’re making a direct comparison to Puttanesca, but it sounds, and looks, really delicious. I think there are a lot of ingredients with with stand-out flavors, so the combination looks really amazing to me. I never identified casarecce pasta by name before. Now I know. :-)
So many pasta shapes, so little time!!!
Thank you Angela!
Grazie!
Absolutely! It’s probably my favorite, but I also love trapanese.
Puttanesca is one of my family’s all-time favorites! I love all of the green olives included to give it that special tang! Beautiful too, Miss Mimi
Thanks so much Roz!