Fettuccine with Puttanesca Sauce

We recently picked up the KitchenAid attachments to make fresh pasta. Readers of the blog will no doubt be aware of our penchant for fresh pasta. I can tell you this: if you own a KitchenAid mixer AND love fresh pasta, you owe it to yourself to get these attachments. It cut the prep time in half. From starting to make the dough until we had fresh fettuccine coming out the other end (to include a 25 minute dough resting period) was about 35 minutes. Incredibly fast and tasty.

Due to a mix-up at the grocery store, we were without the services of capers in this dish, which I consider to be a key component to making 'true' puttanesca. Oh well. We did have some spare basil on hand, so we threw that in there.

There's just something about freshly made pasta that can't be beat. Great texture, light, absorbs sauce well. The recipe (as written) has you putting the sauce over the top at the end. I am never a big fan of this. I like to get the pasta in the sauce while still on the heat to give the noodles a chance to take in some of the flavor. Overall, very pleased with the result here.

¾ lbs. dried fettuccine or 1 Ib fresh
¼ cup olive oil
2 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
5 plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
¼ cup pitted, chopped kalamata olives
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and boil until al dente. Cooking time may vary by brand; follow package directions. If using fresh pasta, boil until tender, 1-2 minutes. Drain immediately.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the anchovies, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Saute, stirring frequently, until the anchovies are is lightly browned, 1-2 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, parsley, olives and capers and simmer until thoroughly heated, 1-2 minutes. Taste and season with salt and black pepper.

Pour the sauce over the drained pasta and toss to coat evenly. Serve at once.