ONE-PAN ORECCHIETTE PUTTANESCA

This is a sweetened version of puttanesca - the famous pasta sauce from Naples ‘in the style of the prostitute’ - minus the anchovies, plus chickpeas and spices. It’s quick and super practical to make because the pasta actually cooks in the sauce. Try it, and you may not feel the need to boil pasta ever again.

ingredients

• 50ml olive oil, plus 2 tbsp to serve
• 6 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 × 400g tin of chickpeas, drained well and patted dry (240g)
• 2 tsp hot smoked paprika
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• ¾ tbsp tomato paste
• 40g parsley, roughly chopped
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 3 tbsp baby capers
• 125g Nocellara olives (or another green olive), pitted and roughly chopped in half (80g)
• 250g small, sweet cherry tomatoes
• 2 tsp caster sugar
• ½ tbsp caraway seeds, lightly toasted and crushed
• 250g dried orecchiette
• 500ml vegetable or chicken stock
• salt and black pepper

method

1. Put the first six ingredients and ½ teaspoon of salt into a large sauté pan, for which you have a lid, and place on a medium-high heat. Fry for minutes, stirring every now and then, until the chickpeas are slightly crisp you may need to turn the heat down a little if they start to colour too much. Remove one-third of the chickpeas and set aside to use as a garnish.

2. In a small bowl, combine the parsley, lemon zest, capers and olives. AdD two-thirds of the parsley mixture to the sauté pan, along with the cherry tomatoes, sugar and caraway seeds, and cook for 2 minutes on a medium-high heat, stirring often. Add the pasta, stock, ¾ teaspoon of salt and 200ml of water, and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium, cover with the lid and cook for 12-14 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente.

3. Stir in the remaining parsley mixture, drizzle with the remaining tablespoons of oil and garnish with the fried chickpeas and a good grind of pepper.