Recipe: Puttanesca from Chef Gavin Hughes
/Puttanesca is an Italian red sauce typically made with tomatoes, olive oil, anchovies, olives, capers and garlic, and served with pasta. This month we reconnected with foodie and Grumpy Grandma’s fan, Chef Gavin Hughes, who has generously shared his delicious puttanesca recipe with us.
Gavin is former Head Chef at The Byron at Byron Resort and Ambassador for the Byron Farmers Markets. Wherever he is cooking in the world, Gavin loves working directly with local farmers and producers, with the Northern Rivers region of NSW holding a particularly special place in his heart.
“When I tried Grumpy Grandma’s olives and oils I immediately thought to make puttanesca,'' explains Gavin. “It’s such a versatile sauce. Along with pasta, it goes well with roast meats like chicken or pork or you can serve it with a cheese like burrata. What makes this recipe particularly special is using premium quality olives and Grumpy Grandma’s Wood Smoked Olive Oil. It really makes a difference as it’s so aromatic and flavoursome.”
This recipe serves 2 - with some left over for lunch!
Ingredients
Lashings of Grumpy Grandma’s Wood Smoked Olive Oil
1 x small eggplant, diced to your liking
1 x yellow pepper, diced to the same size
1 x red pepper, diced to the same size
Grumpy Grandma’s Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 x small brown onion, chopped
4 x Australian garlic cloves, sliced thinly
1 x teaspoon smoked paprika
Splash of balsamic
Splash of any wine
1 x punnet cherry tomatoes or 1 can of the Mutti brand cherry toms
4 x large tomatoes (seconds are perfect for this recipe)
1 x bottle of Passata sauce (any brand)
21 x miniature capers rinsed under cold water to remove a little saltiness
A handful of mixed pitted olives (Gavin uses a mix of Grumpy Grandma’s Manzanillo, Wood Smoked and Kalamata)
Fresh basil leaves, torn
Fresh thyme leaves, picked
Salt and pepper
Grumpy Grandma’s semi dried olives, chopped to garnish (optional)
1 x bottle of red wine for the cook
Method
Warm a 28cm pan on the stovetop. This size pan provides the ideal surface area to create good heat.
Add lots of wood smoked olive oil to the pan, followed by the eggplant, and fry until deeply golden and cooked well. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Repeat with the diced peppers and when cooked place in the bowl with the eggplant.
Wipe the pan clean then add extra virgin olive oil to fry the onion, garlic and smoked paprika. Cook without colour until they are soft and have released their natural sugars.
Add balsamic and wine then boil until evaporated.
Throw in all the tomatoes and colour them slightly. Be careful as they may start to stick to the pan.
Place the eggplant and peppers back into the pan and mix well.
Pour in the desired amount of Passata sauce, mix again then add capers and olives.
Add the basil and thyme leaves and a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper. Careful with seasoning as the capers and olives are already salty.
Finish with a sprinkle of chopped Grumpy Grandma’s semi dried olives.
