Orzo Puttanesca
Puttanesca is one of those sauces we keep coming back to again and again; it's punchy, salty, deeply savoury, and it comes together faster than you'd think. We've swapped in orzo here instead of spaghetti and honestly it's a game changer. The little pasta grains soak up all that bold tomato sauce beautifully. You've got garlic, chilli, capers and olives doing all the heavy lifting on flavour, so every mouthful has a proper kick to it. It's the kind of dinner that tastes like you've been cooking for hours but lands on the table in 35 minutes. Make this tonight, trust us.
Before You Start
- Large frying pan
- Small frying pan
- Lid for large frying pan
- Spoon for crushing tomatoes
- Plate lined with kitchen paper
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp garlic purée
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp chilli flakes
- 1 tbsp capers
- 100g pitted Kalamata olives
- 1 tin of tinned tomatoes
- 300g orzo
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp good quality olive oil
- 2 tbsp capers
- plant-based parmesan
- basil leaves
Method
For the orzo
- Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the garlic, chilli, capers and olives. Fry for 2-3 minutes, constantly stirring, taking care not to burn the garlic. Add the tinned tomatoes, refill the tin with water twice and add to the sauce. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes, crushing the tomatoes with the back of a spoon
- Add in the brown sugar and leave to simmer
Meanwhile, make the crispy capers
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Drain the capers and add them to the hot oil. Fry until golden brown, about 4-5 minutes. Carefully remove the capers from the oil and transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper. Set to one side
Return to the orzo
- Season the sauce with pepper and more salt if you’d like
- Stir the orzo into the sauce. Bring to a simmer, then cover with a lid and cook for 9-10 minutes, until the orzo is soft and tender
Time to serve
- Top the orzo with the crispy capers, plant-based parmesan and fresh basil leaves
Tips & Variations
- Don't rush the base: Fry the garlic, chilli, capers and olives together low and slow at the start. That first 2-3 minutes is where all the big flavour comes from, so keep stirring and don't let it catch.
- Adjust the heat: We like this with a good amount of chilli but if you're cooking for people who don't love spice, just use half and taste as you go. You can always add more but you can't take it out.
- Make it heartier: Ian loves throwing in a tin of butter beans or some pan-fried courgette to bulk it out a bit. It works really well and makes it feel even more substantial as a meal.
Why This Works
The trick with puttanesca is getting the garlic, chilli, capers and olives into the oil together right at the start; that's where all the flavour builds from. Letting the tinned tomatoes simmer down low and slow with that extra tin of water is what gives you a proper rich, clingy sauce rather than something watery. And orzo is just perfect for this because it absorbs the sauce as it cooks, so every bite is packed with flavour rather than the pasta just sitting on top of it.