Vegan Spaghetti alla Puttanesca
This vegan puttanesca pasta is simple but massively satisfying. The tomato sauce is emboldened by olives, capers, and miso. Fresh parsley and shredded nori give a bright pop and mild taste of the sea.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 8-16 ounces Spaghetti or other long thin pasta (250-500 grams)
- 4 cloves garlic sliced thinly
- 4 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 sushi-size (8x8 inch / 20x20 inch) sheet of nori shredded
- 1 Tablespoon miso or more or less, depending on intensity - see note
- 3.5 ounces pitted black olives sliced in half lengthwise and rinsed (100 grams)
- 2 tablespoons capers rinsed and chopped
- 28 ounces peeled canned tomatoes (800 grams)
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley plus more to garnish
Instructions
- Boil the pasta according to the package instructions, but about 1 minute less than recommended. You want it to be firm because it will be cooked a bit more in the sauce. Reserve at least 1 cup of the boiling water for later use.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. When the oil is hot, add the garlic, pepper flakes, capers. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes until the garlic is very lightly browned.
- Add the miso and stir together with the ingredients. Cook for 1 minute.
- Add the tomatoes along with the juice in the can. Turn to medium heat Break the tomatoes apart with the spatula. Continue cooking for 10 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the pasta, olives, parsley, and spaghetti. Use a pair of tongs to stir well. Continue cooking until the pasta is perfectly al dente, 1-2 minutes. If the mixture becomes dry at any point, gradually add pasta boiling water and stir. The consistency should be saucy but thick enough to eat with a fork.
- Taste and season with salt and black pepper as needed. You may not need much salt since the ingredients are already quite salty.
- Serve pasta immediately, garnishing with nori and more parsley.
Notes
The quantity of pasta can range from 8-16 ounces (250-500 grams) and this depends on your preferred pasta-to-sauce ratio. I like my pasta extra saucy so I only used 8 ounces (250 grams) when I tested the recipe. Feel free to adjust the amount of pasta based on your meal plan.
Miso can vary a lot in its potency and one way to judge the potency is the amount of sodium (saltiness) per tablespoon. The one I used in this recipe is particularly mild and contains about 450 milligrams of sodium. Some Japanese misos contain as much as 800 milligrams. Check your miso before adding it. If the amount is in the 500-600 range, you can reduce the amount of miso by a third. If in the 700-800 range, you can reduce the amount by half.