Pasta alla Pizzaiola Recipe from Puglia
This delicious pasta recipe from Puglia is based on pizza marinara sauce, hence the name! It can be served baked or not baked. It is simple to make but full of Mediterranean flavour! Make it vegetarian by leaving out the anchovies!
- Prep time
- 10 min
- Cook time
- 30 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 400 g pennoni pasta ((14oz) or other pasta of your choice)
- 500 g tomato passata ((17oz) or canned peeled tomatoes)
- 12 cherry tomatoes ((optional))
- 250 g fresh mozzarella ((9oz) double the mozzarella if you plan to bake before serving)
- 1-2 garlic cloves (peeled)
- 1-2 anchovy fillets ((salted or preserved in oil) leave out for vegetarian option)
- 1-2 tsp oregano (dried or 2-4 tsp fresh)
- salt (for pasta and to taste)
- 3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp capers ((salted or preserved in vinegar))
Instructions
- 1
If using salted capers rinse under running water. If using cherry tomatoes wash them and cut into halves. Peel the garlic.
- 2
Put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. Add salt when it starts to boil and bring to the boil again.
- 3
In a high-sided skillet or frying pan, sauté the garlic cloves, the anchovy fillets, the capers and the cherry tomatoes together with the olive oil. After a few minutes, once the anchovies have melted, add the tomato passata.
- 4
Cook over a medium heat for about fifteen minutes. When half cooked, add salt to taste and sprinkle with the oregano, leave to simmer and flavor for 10 more minutes. Remove the garlic.
- 5
In the meantime, cut the mozzarella into small pieces and then cook the pasta al dente according to the instructions on the packet.
- 6
Remove some of the sauce from the pan. When it’s cooked, drain the pasta and add to the skillet/frying pan with the sauce. Mix everything together well to distribute the sauce evenly. Plate the pasta after putting a nice spoonful of the saved sauce in the bottom of the bowl/plate.
- 7
Put some mozzarella pieces onto the pasta before serving.
- 8
Transfer the pasta mixed with the sauce to a buttered oven dish. Cover the top with mozzarella slices and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C until the top starts to crisp and the mozzarella melts and browns slightly!