Pasta With Green Puttanesca

By Melissa Clark

Updated March 13, 2025

Pasta With Green Puttanesca
Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.
Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
4(1,615)
Comments
Read comments

Puttanesca is a sauce that plies its trade all year round, with ingredients — pantry staples like anchovies, garlic and olives — at the ready whenever the desire strikes. But this puttanesca takes advantage of spring greens, using fat green garlic cloves and baby spinach to lend a pungent verdancy to a tried-and-true dish. (If green garlic isn’t available, use regular, but use less.)

Featured in: Puttanesca Sauce Dressed for Spring

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings
  • Salt
  • 1pound spaghettini or spaghetti
  • ½cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 10anchovy fillets
  • ¼cup drained capers
  • 1cup pitted and sliced green Cerignola or Picholine olives
  • 10fat green garlic cloves, peeled, sliced ¼-inch thick or use 8 regular garlic cloves
  • ⅓cup chopped scallions including greens
  • ½teaspoon red-pepper flakes
  • 12cups baby spinach leaves (11 ounces)
  • ½cup torn basil leaves
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

503 calories; 23 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 15 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 62 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 14 grams protein; 592 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until it is not quite al dente, 5 to 8 minutes. Reserve a cup of cooking water, then drain the pasta.

  2. Step 2

    While the pasta is cooking, warm ¼ cup oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the anchovies and capers. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the capers start to brown, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining ¼ cup oil, olives, garlic, scallions and red-pepper flakes; increase heat to high if using green garlic (leave it at medium-high for regular garlic) and cook until garlic is golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the spinach and cook until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the pasta and toss for 1 minute. Add a splash of pasta cooking water if the pasta seems dry. Season with salt, if necessary. Toss in the basil leaves.

Ratings

4 out of 5
1,615 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Comments

Jim

To even further simplify: if you're in a hurry, don't start with olive oil by itself. You can use anchovies that are already canned with capers and just dump the entire tin's content along with the anchovy-flavored olive oil from the tin. If you use two tins, that actually works out perfectly, and no additional salt is needed.

REBECCA CHERRY

Simple to make and a pleasant deviation from the normal weeknight pasta hodgepodge dish. Based on the ingredients list, I thought it would be quite pungent and salty but, all that mellows in the cooking process into a smooth, unique taste. if i were anybody who liked these ingredients, i'd give this a try. just a note: I julienned prosciutto and subbed it for the anchovies...and, I'd do it, again.

Kimberly M

I love this recipe because it is satisfying without the need for cheese. I've served this twice to toddlers and they love it. I chop everything finely and it practically dissolves into a sauce that they think is great, but don't know what it is, and can't pick "stuff" out.

Stephanie

Love this and have made with asparagus or zucchini +microgreens or pea shoots. I generally use a bit of veg stock to juice it up a bit. Made tonight with wild green onions that are invading my garden. Very versatile, quick and easy.

Chunchine

So delicious! I used mint instead of basil because that’s what I had.

JK

Didn't have olives, so omitted. Topped w canned tuna for more protein. So good!

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.