Firefighting Chef Paul Knapp's Pasta Puttanesca

Thu, 15 August 2019

Ingredients:
Six cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
One handful of Kalamata black olives destoned and halved
Two big handfuls of really ripe cherry tomatoes, halved
Two fresh red chillies, deseeded and chopped
½  a bunch of fresh basil, roughly shredded
400g dried spaghetti/linguine or any pasta of your choice
Olive oil
For the anchovies, I use 2 tbsp powdered seaweed (I used crumpled up Nori sheets, put them in my blender, and processed them to a fine powder. A spice grinder might work even better) and 1 tbsp Tamari (use soy sauce if you don't have this) - add this to your own taste, you may not use it all or not at all
Plant-based Parmesan cheese and a few baby basil leaves to finish

Method:
1. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and put in your pasta. Cook according to the packet instructions for approx. 9-11 mins.
2. While you're waiting for that to cook, peel and finely slice your garlic, destone those olives and halve, along with the cherry tomatoes.
3. Slice the chillies and pick and tear the basil leaves into small snowflakes of flavour.
4. Place a large frying pan over a medium heat, drizzle in a good glug of olive oil, add the garlic and chilli and bring the pan up to a medium heat, allowing the oil to become infused.
5. Then add your seaweed/tamari sauce. Try a teaspoon at first, and add the olives and stir for a further two minutes, or until the garlic starts to turn golden.
6. Add the cherry tomatoes, a ladle full of the boiling pasta water, and cover with a lid. Cook for three to four minutes, or until the cherry tomatoes start to cook down, softening slightly.
7. Drain the pasta, reserving a little pasta water.
8. Add the basil to the sauce along with the pasta and a splash of the reserved cooking water, to loosen.
9. Have a taste and season to how you like it  and top with a good sprinkle of plant-powered fresh Parmesan. Enjoy!