Pasta Puttanesca

"This spicy dish has bold flavors using items from my pantry. I learned this trick for pitting olives: Place the back of your hand on the flat side of the knife against the olive, then give it a hard press to lightly smash it." —Nicolette Manescalchi, Minneapolis

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1  teaspoon  extra-virgin olive oil
• 3  canned anchovy fillets, chopped (about 1/4 ounce)
• 4  garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2  teaspoon  crushed red pepper
• 1/3  cup  vodka
• 1/2  cup  chopped pitted kalamata olives
• 1  (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, undrained
• 1  (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1/4  cup  (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 1/2  teaspoon  kosher salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 8  cups  hot cooked linguine (about 1 pound uncooked pasta)
• 1/3  cup  (1 1/2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add anchovies to pan; cook 1 minute. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds. Add red pepper; cook 30 seconds. Add vodka; cook 1 minute. Add olives, crushed tomatoes, and diced tomatoes to the pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and stir in 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, salt, and black pepper.

2. Combine tomato mixture and pasta in a large bowl; toss well. Arrange about 1 1/4 cups pasta mixture on each of 8 plates; sprinkle each serving with 2 teaspoons cheese.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

322 (16% from fat)

Fat:

5.9g (sat 1.4g,mono 2.7g,poly 0.6g)

Protein:

11.9g

Carbohydrate:

52.1g

Fiber:

3.8g

Cholesterol:

6mg

Iron:

2.4mg

Sodium:

595mg

Calcium:

116mg