Pasta Puttanesca with Fried Capers

While on vacation last week, my husband ordered chicken piccata. Since then I have been thinking about capers lately! I was on Pinterest and saw a recipe for Pasta Puttanesca with Fried Capers over Linguine that I thought looked perfect for summer and satisfied my caper craving. Not to mention this dish is extremely fresh and you can use ingredients from your local farmer's market or backyard.

Recipe adapted from Vegetarian Times (I bet you can tell what ingredient I added below that isn't included in the recipe!!!) My husband always wants more substance with his pasta so I added some grilled chicken. Thinking grilled shrimp could also be a great substitution as well.

Ingredients:

• 1lb chicken cubed
• 2 tablespoons of lemon pepper (I used William Sonoma Meyer Lemon Peppercorn rub)
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of capers, drained and patted dry with paper towels
• 1/2 red onion chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic/1 tablespoon
• 1lb cherry tomatos, halved
• 1 cup fresh basil, thinly sliced
• 1/4 kalamata olives, chopped
• 12 oz. linguine
• Fresh parmesan to top pasta

Directions: 

• Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Toss chicken with lemon pepper. Place in skillet and cook until done. Take chicken out of pan and carefully wipe pan to use for sauce, or use a different skillet. 
• Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add capers, and fry 1 to 2 minutes, or until capers start to pop or split. Remove capers from pan and place on paper towels. 
• Add onion to skillet, cook 3-5 minutes, and then stir in garlic and red pepper flakes, cook for one minute more. 
• Stir in tomatoes, and cook 5-7 minutes, or until tomatoes begin to break down. Stir in 1/2 the basil and all of the olives. Remove pan from heat. 

• Boil pasta and cook according to directions. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water. Add drained pasta to skillet, and toss to combine with sauce, adding some pasta water if needed.
• Serve garnished with remaining basil and capers. Top with parmesan cheese if desired. 

So I totally started to serve the pasta before I got a picture!! So the picture below does not do the pasta dish any justice. 

For that added Mediterranean feel you can also decorate your table like my mother-in-law did! She bought flowers at the grocery store and then added greenery from the lemon trees in the garden. I just love how summery the dining room looks for dinner! 

Happy Pinning!
By Jennifer Shelton