Spicy and Saucy Cherry Tomato Pasta
- Total Time
- 25 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
Advertisement
Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 4tablespoons olive oil
- 3tablespoons drained jarred capers
- 3tablespoons tomato paste
- 3garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 to 2teaspoons red-pepper flakes (optional)
- 16ounces orecchiette or other shaped pasta
- 1½pounds cherry tomatoes, halved
- ½packed cup thinly sliced fresh basil, plus small whole leaves, for garnish
- Fresh ricotta, shaved ricotta salata, or grated pecorino or Parmesan, for garnish (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
590 calories; 16 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 96 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 17 grams protein; 750 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.
- Step 2
In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high. Pat the capers dry, then add them to the skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the capers to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Step 3
Add the tomato paste to the skillet and cook over medium-high, stirring frequently, until tomato paste darkens in color and deepens in flavor, about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, the garlic and red-pepper flakes, if using, and cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is softened and fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Step 4
Add the pasta to the boiling water and reduce heat to medium. Cook according to package instructions until al dente.
- Step 5
While the pasta cooks, add the cherry tomatoes to the skillet, season with salt and pepper and cook over medium-high, stirring, 5 minutes. Add ⅔ cup pasta cooking water from the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes start to fall apart and the liquid becomes saucy, about 10 minutes.
- Step 6
Drain the pasta, and transfer it to the skillet with the sauce to combine. (If your skillet is too full to accommodate the pasta, you can transfer the cooked pasta back to the pot, then add the sauce to combine.) Stir in half the basil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Step 7
Divide among plates or bowls and top with capers and remaining basil, plus cheese and whole basil leaves. Serve immediately.
Private Notes
Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.
Cooking Notes
Kim Huffman
A life lesson in pasta learned from an Italian chef. Take your pasta out a couple of minutes before the "instructed cooking time", put it in the sauce, stir, and add a ladle ( or more as needed ) to finish the cooking time. Wait till that additional water is absorbed ( part will evaporate ). This will allow the pasta to absorb the sauce, and the starchy pasta water will cream out and thicken the sauce beautifully.
Carrie Ann
Where have crispy fried capers been all my life! You need more than three tablespoons. I ate half of them while making the sauce. Stir the tomato paste of low heat! I had a few small burned pieces; family didn't mind though.
good weeknight family meal
This was a perfect family pasta dinner. Kids could leave off capers and I added crumbled Italian sausage to make it heartier. I browned the ground sausage after crisping the capers and added it back to the sauce pan after the tomatoes softened. No other adjustments needed. I topped mine with chopped olives for even more flavor. I used a rustic orecchiette from Trader Joe’s and it was perfect.
Marcy
Making this right now - smells delicious, even though I had to make do with dried basil. Thanks for the comment about keeping an eye on the tomato paste while browning - went low and slow and it turned out fine!
Lauren
SO DELICIOUS!!! I also deglazed the pan with a splash of red wine after cooking the tomato paste / garlic / red pepper flakes because the paste stuck to my pan. I added some sauteed mushrooms at the end. I think the fried capers make the dish and the cooked tomato paste adds a nice smoky flavor.
Lil
Add pancetta or anchovies, more capers
Monique Heenan
BEYOND worth the minimal amount of work. What a winner! Deglazed the pan with a touch of red wine ...more capers, more tomato paste, 1 tsp of red pepper, 10-12 ounces of pasta :) If you like it saucy. LOVED the ricotta to cool the heat.
Alexa Weibel, Senior Staff Editor, NYT Cooking
Hi Jen! Are you patting the capers dry in a kitchen towel or paper towel before frying? That should help to remove excess moisture, to help them crisp up! Otherwise perhaps increasing the temperature and/or the cook time should do it.
pamelaM
use this recipe for the fried capers as topping for any puttanesca-style recipe!
Deb
My husband and I made this tonight and loved it. We added chorizo to punch up the flavor and get some protein in there, too. The sauce comes out a little thick, so you might want to add a bit more pasta water to taste. With a leafy green salad and a nice glass of wine, It's a perfect Sunday supper.
Estella
Excellent recipe - made it as noted with the addition of more garlic. Used the ricotta to finish which balanced nicely with the spicy sauce. This recipe is a definite keeper and crowd pleaser!
hails
Excellent recipe. Stirred the tomato paste quickly and lowered the heat and didn’t have any problems. Served mine with ricotta as suggested—delicious!
Bernice
I'm such a fan of these fried capers! They are tiny flavor bombs- I wish I made more! That said, I thought the pasta 'sauce' was good but not amazing, aside from the capers. It's easy and fresh so that is good but those capers!!!!!
Lolo Hoff
I learned a recipe incredibly similar to this at a cooking class in Italy. The only difference is it adds olives. I highly suggest doing that.
Jennifer
What a wonderful and simple dish. As I am typically disappointed with the "heat" most recipes bring, I used the full 2 tsp of red pepper flakes, and I probably went a little far. I'd use 1-1.5 next time and I love spice. Will definitely make again.
GrumpyInSF
Double sauce, half the red pepper, works great.
caro
Great recipe! Added ground chuck which made 5 servings.
KatieC
To all of those who rated a different recipe than appears here--I have now made this twice. The first time I freely made a number of modifications for various reasons and the second time I actually followed the recipe (though scaled down for two people). The second time was better and absolutely delicious! So 5 stars for the actual recipe, 4 stars for mine. Live and learn. And apologies to Alexa, who undoubtedly worked on this recipe for a long time. She was right!
oliva
Burrata also makes a delicious topping to cool the heat!
Alex
Nice weekday meal. Love the addition of capers. But how is anyone cooking the tomato paste on medium high heat without burning it? It was a scorched mess on my first attempt.
LG
Meh. This was just ok. I’m not sure why it’s a five star recipe.
KristinU
Winner winner pasta dinner! Made as directed, no deviations, which is unusual for me. Great recipe when you’ve got tons of cherry tomatoes in your garden.
lizzieD
So very delicious! This will be in heavy rotation especially when I have a lot of cherry tomatoes to use up (which is often). I stayed pretty close to the recipe, didn’t have basil so used about a quarter cup of that frozen chopped basil in cubes (threw it in before the pasta to give it time to thaw/meld) and tossed it with cheese tortellini. I’m obsessed with capers anyway so the fried ones were a no brainer (sadly my family does not share my caper passion but that was more for me!)
Nancy
I expected this to be great but I was disappointed. Don’t know where I went wrong - I’m sure it was me - but I followed recipe. Saw the comment about adding anchovies and I think that would be a great enhancer because I felt it needed more salt. Will try again with revisions.
Erin
Try adding a couple zucchini next time to get more veg!
Jocelyn T.
Delicious and easy weeknight pasta, especially in the summer when the tomatoes are sweet! The crispy capers do make it feel fancy. Tonight I happened some extra creme fraiche and decided to use that instead of buying ricotta and it was equally delightful.
Lori E
Had a plethora of cherry tomatoes so searched NY Times cooking app and found this recipe. What a winner. The changes I made were crisping some pancetta before adding capers and tomato paste. Also stirred in a bit of anchovy paste for umami and added some Calabrian peppers. The orecchiette cradled the bits of pancetta and capers. Yummy!
Lori E
Made this tonight because I had a plethora of cherry tomatoes. Looking for inspiration I searched The NY Times cooking app for cherry tomatoes. This recipe came up. Wow! What a keeper! Changes I made were the addition of pancetta, which I sautéed before adding capers, garlic and tomato paste. Also added some Calabrian chilies. The orecchiette cradled the bits of pancetta and capers. Absolutely sublime!
Olivia
LOVED this. Added anchovies (full tin) at same time as paste, used olive oil from anchovies upfront with the capers. Used a whole can of capers, will try a full can of tomato paste next time too! Deglazed with wine ahead of adding tomatoes and finished cooking pasta in the sauce with an extra cup of pasta water - great suggestions from above! Extra red pepper flakes and fresh ricotta balanced it out perfectly. Delizoso!
ellens
This is REALLY good. One of the best recipes I’ve been from this site (and I’ve made quite a few). Highly recommend!
Private notes are only visible to you.
Advertisement
