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Home » Main Dishes » Chicken » Puttanesca with Shredded Chicken

Puttanesca with Shredded Chicken

October 2, 2014 by Kristi 42 Comments

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This Italian Puttanesca with Shredded Chicken is a great Italian dish, loaded with garlic, anchovies, kalamata olives, capers and red pepper flakes.

What is your favorite Italian dish?

This Italian Puttanesca is loaded with garlic, anchovies, kalamata olives, capers and red pepper flakes ~ with a bit of shredded chicken for a great Italian dish.

You know what I love about Puttanesca?  It’s garlic-y, salt-y, pasta-y self.

Puttanesca with Shredded Chicken - inspirationkitchen.comIt feels like a hearty pasta dish, but it’s light somehow.

This is not your traditional Puttanesca, because I added the Slow Cooker Crock Pot Shredded Chicken I shared with you a few weeks back.

Remember how I told you that I refuse to be afraid of anything?  Well…, in this dish, I conquered another fear.  Anchovies!  w00t!  I did it!  🙂

Puttanesca with Shredded Chicken - inspirationkitchen.comAnd, I’m sssooo glad I did.  Because it wouldn’t have been Puttanesca without them.

Although I have to tell you ~ as I was chopping them up and they crunched a bit, I’ll admit I cringed with every single slice of the knife.  But…, I put my big girl apron on, and worked through it.

Isn’t that the way it is with fears?  You need to work through them?  Accepting them easily doesn’t come naturally or they wouldn’t be much of a fear, right?

Yet, you plow through them, and the next thing you know…you’re eating anchovies.  🙂  Who knew?

Puttanesca with Shredded Chicken - inspirationkitchen.comBTW, this recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes.  Feel free to only use 1/2 teaspoon if you’re worried about the spice factor.  This dish is delightfully good either way, because it’s filled with anchovies, kalamata olives, capers, juicy tomatoes and loads of garlic (a.k.a. an Italian lover’s favorite).  Trust me, your kitchen will smell amazing while you’re making this.

This time, I added chicken, but you don’t need to ~ it’s a flavorful enough dish without it.

BTW, don’t be shy about serving wine on the side with this Puttanesca.  It goes great with a dry red wine and warm, crusty, toasted garlic-parmesan bread.

Puttanesca with Shredded Chicken - inspirationkitchen.comAnd just to be sure that you don’t smell like a wino, be sure to use BIG cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped, for a nice, ripe garlic breath for later.  Because…you just never know when you might need to breathe on somebody.

Think of it like an Italian breath mint.  🙂

Enjoy!

Puttanesca | Inspiration Kitchen
Print Recipe

Puttanesca with Shredded Chicken

Italian Puttanesca with garlic, anchovies, kalamata olives, capers and red pepper flakes ~ add shredded chicken for a great Italian dish.
Course: Main
Author: Kristi

Ingredients

Sauce

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 6 cloves garlic coarsely chopped
  • 1 tin flat anchovy fillets drained, rinsed and chopped fine
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 20 kalamata olives pitted and coarsely chopped
  • 3 tablespoons capers
  • 1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
  • 1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
  • Cracked black pepper to taste
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 to 2 and ½ cups cooked shredded chicken (optional)
  • 1/3 cup fresh parsley chopped

Pasta

  • 1 pound spaghetti cooked al dente, then drained

Garnish

  • Grated Parmigiano optional

Instructions

Sauce

  • Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add oil, garlic, anchovies, and crushed red pepper flakes. Saute mixture until anchovies melt into oil and completely dissolve and garlic is tender, about 3 minutes. Add kalamata olives, capers, tomatoes, black pepper, salt, chicken and parsley. Bring sauce to a bubble, reduce heat, and simmer 8 to 10 minutes.
  • Toss sauce with cooked pasta.

Pasta

  • Cook per pasta instructions. Set aside.

Prep

  • Toss all ingredients together and top with grated Parmigiano and chopped parsley.

Recipe modified from Food Network @ Pasta Puttanesca.

Puttanesca with Shredded Chicken

Filed Under: Chicken, Main Dishes Tagged With: capers, chicken, inspiration kitchen, italian, kalamata olive, kalamatas, main dish, pasta, puttanesca, recipe, spaghetti, spicy, tomato sauce

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Comments

  1. Renee@Two in the Kitchen says

    October 2, 2014 at 11:08 am

    This looks delicious! And I don’t think I’ve every tried anchovies either but since you conquered your fear of them, I’ll try it in your honor!! By the way, I’m not sure if you said that you actually liked them or not! 😉 But ya know what I DO like: pasta with red peeper flakes and a nice glass of red wine to go with it. So move over, because I’m ready to eat! 🙂

    Reply
    • Kristi says

      October 5, 2014 at 7:10 am

      Come on over Renee – we’ll eat together! Anchovies add nice salt, and as long as I can’t see them, they taste good – hahaha!

      Reply
  2. Monica says

    October 2, 2014 at 4:53 pm

    You go girl – cracking eggs cleanly and chowing down on anchovies! ; ) I love it and I love puttanesca sauce but have yet to make it at home. So many amazing Italian dishes, aren’t there. I love the idea of the shredded chicken. It kind of melds in and picks up all the flavors of the dish.

    Reply
    • Kristi says

      October 5, 2014 at 7:10 am

      Thanks Monica! I agree – I liked the addition of chicken! Have a beautiful weekend!

      Reply
  3. Ella-HomeCookingAdventure says

    October 2, 2014 at 8:50 pm

    This pasta dish looks really good, I am sure it was very flavorful:) Pinned.

    Reply
    • Kristi says

      October 5, 2014 at 7:11 am

      Thanks for the pin Ella – it was a great pasta dish. I hope you get to try it!

      Reply
  4. Ashley @ Wishes and Dishes says

    October 2, 2014 at 9:21 pm

    An Italian breath mint.. hahaha I just laughed out loud. Love it! I don’t think I could choose a favorite Italian dish even if I tried..this one might rank pretty high though!

    Reply
    • Kristi says

      October 5, 2014 at 7:11 am

      Hahaha! I’m so glad you laughed Ashley! That’s what I was hoping for! Have a great weekend!

      Reply
  5. Sarah@WholeandHeavenlyOven says

    October 3, 2014 at 4:32 am

    Italian food is my fav kind of food EVER. I can never get enough pasta (or anything carbs) in my life. 😀 I’ve never tried puttanesca before, but it sounds and LOOKS totally fabulous! I could so get into this pasta for dinner sometime soon! 🙂

    Reply
    • Kristi says

      October 5, 2014 at 7:12 am

      I hope you get to try it Sarah – you will love it! If you love garlic, this is the dish for you! 🙂

      Reply
  6. marcie says

    October 3, 2014 at 7:49 am

    This here is a restaurant-worthy dish — it’s gorgeous! You described it so well that I want a big bowl and it’s only 8:47 in the morning! You’re right, it wouldn’t have been the same without the anchovies. I’ve gotten over my anchovy thing a while back with Caesar salad and a few other things, and while they don’t smell too nice, they certainly add so much to dishes like this. Love this, and pinning! Have a great weekend, Kristi! 🙂

    Reply
    • Kristi says

      October 5, 2014 at 7:13 am

      Thanks for the pin and the nice compliment Marcie! Have a wonderful weekend!

      Reply
  7. Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl says

    October 3, 2014 at 11:29 am

    Major yum to this, looks like I have a pasta dinner coming soon into my life!

    Reply
    • Kristi says

      October 5, 2014 at 7:13 am

      So glad you like it Pamela! Have a great weekend!

      Reply
  8. Shelley @ Two Healthy Kitchens says

    October 3, 2014 at 4:34 pm

    So gorgeous! And I love the addition of your slow cooker shredded chicken – brilliant! And super easy to make, too! Game on – totally pinning! Now about those anchovies … and your “big girl apron” (as always you are totally hilarious!) … I already love anchovies (even sometimes on pizza), so I’m totally stoked that they’re lurking in this pasta sauce! They’re so salty-umami-yummy, and they really just melt away into sauces like this … I’ll bet know one would ever even know they’re in there unless you told them! They’d just think “Wow! What a delicious sauce!” 😀 Oh – and can I be all food-blogger-geeky for a sec? The third pic down, where the bowls of pasta are reflected perfectly in the wine glass? LOVE it!!!

    Reply
    • Kristi says

      October 5, 2014 at 7:15 am

      Thanks Shelley! I can’t believe you like anchovies on pizza! I may have put my big girl apron on to cut them up for this sauce, but trying them on a pizza. Whoa. Let’s not push it! 🙂 And, food-blogger-geeky unite – I love the reflection in the glasses too! So glad you noticed. Thanks for the pin – have a great weekend!!!

      Reply
  9. Elizabeth @ SugarHero.com says

    October 3, 2014 at 11:05 pm

    You are inspiring me, because I am totally scurred of anchovies! Maybe this will help me be brave and give them a try–because it certainly looks and sounds delicious!

    Reply
    • Kristi says

      October 5, 2014 at 7:16 am

      Hahaha! Me too Elizabeth – the good news is, they sort of dissolve in the sauce, so if you can get past the cutting them up, just toss them in the sauce and they’ll dissolve. So you get all the goodness without having to actually see them. 🙂

      Reply
  10. Lindsey @ American Heritage Cooking says

    October 4, 2014 at 9:25 am

    Lol! Get it girl!! Anchovies definitely require big-girl aprons! I’ve never tried them but I am reading a book about the history of salt and, obviously, salted fish plays a huge part in it, and I have found myself really wanting to try them! And they are supposed to be super good for you. Win!

    This pasta looks delicious! I’ve never made a puttanesca but it is absolutely on my list! Pinned!

    Reply
    • Kristi says

      October 5, 2014 at 7:16 am

      Thanks for the pin Lindsey. Dude, you are into some heavy reading – the history of salt??? Now THAT is a dedicated food blogger. 🙂

      Reply
      • Lindsey @ American Heritage Cooking says

        October 6, 2014 at 4:58 pm

        Haha! It’s interesting I swear!

        Reply
  11. Manali @ CookWithManali says

    October 5, 2014 at 8:22 am

    looks delicious and something that I must try – minus the chicken of course! 🙂 Thanks for the recipe Kristi!

    Reply
    • Kristi says

      October 6, 2014 at 5:33 am

      Glad you like it Manali! Have a great week!

      Reply
  12. Alyssa @ My Sequined Life says

    October 5, 2014 at 7:32 pm

    The real question is…what Italian food isn’t my favorite?! Love, love, love this one, Kristi! Someday I’ll get around to trying anchovies though. I’ve been a scaredy cat so far!

    Reply
    • Kristi says

      October 6, 2014 at 5:34 am

      I love Italian food too Alyssa! It’s hard to pick a favorite. 🙂

      Reply
  13. Johlene says

    October 6, 2014 at 2:04 am

    Love this! Good on you for putting your “big girl” apron on when cutting the anchovies….. 🙂
    Happy week friend!
    xoxo

    Reply
    • Kristi says

      October 6, 2014 at 5:34 am

      Hahaha! Sometimes you just need to put the big girl apron on and go for it.

      Reply
  14. Kelly says

    October 7, 2014 at 5:35 am

    Yay, way to go, so proud of you for tackling those anchovies and showing them whose boss 🙂 I love puttanesca sauce but have never made it at home before so next time you make this I’m coming over and we can chow down on a big plate of this amazing pasta, laugh over a glass of wine and see whose Italian breathe mint is stronger 😉

    Reply
    • Kristi says

      October 7, 2014 at 5:46 am

      Hahaha! I LOL’d. I would love to have you come over, because that sounds like a fun time to me! 🙂

      Reply
  15. Kayle (The Cooking Actress) says

    October 9, 2014 at 7:43 am

    this pasta looks amazing! I love the shredded chicken and just all the yumminess up in there!

    Reply
    • Kristi says

      October 9, 2014 at 8:10 am

      Thanks Kayle! I’m a huge pasta lover, so not making this was so not an option!

      Reply
  16. Daniela @ FoodrecipesHQ says

    October 10, 2014 at 6:37 am

    What a beautiful pasta! Puttanesca is one my favorite dish ever. Beautiful pictures!

    Reply
    • Kristi says

      October 10, 2014 at 7:43 am

      Me too! I love a salty puttanesca! Great minds think alike! xoxo

      Reply
  17. Sara {Home is Where The Cookies Are} says

    October 14, 2014 at 4:06 pm

    This sounds SO yummy!! Pasta is a favorite comfort food of mine, especially anything on the tomato-ey, spicey side!!

    Reply
    • Kristi says

      October 14, 2014 at 5:38 pm

      Me too Sara – I love spicy pasta! So glad to have someone that loves it like I do!

      Reply
      • Linda says

        January 6, 2015 at 5:02 pm

        I will be trying this recipe. Love all the ingredients.

        Reply
        • Kristi says

          January 6, 2015 at 6:02 pm

          Thanks Linda! It really is tasty! I hope you absolutely love it!

          Reply
  18. Marye says

    January 6, 2015 at 8:52 am

    Puttanesca is one of my favorites but I don’t make it often because it isn’t high on the family’s list… This is absolutely gorgeous! I need to make it for me!

    Reply
    • Kristi says

      January 6, 2015 at 5:58 pm

      Thanks Marye! Since it’s just the two of us, we get to be very flexible in what we eat. If I had a family that wasn’t a fan, we couldn’t make it either – so I completely understand.

      Reply
  19. Julie | This Gal Cooks says

    January 6, 2015 at 3:22 pm

    This looks SO good, Kristi! I don’t think I’ve ever had anchovies. Well, I’ve had them in real Caesar dressing but that’s about it. Can’t get over the smell. BUT, if someone made this dish for me, I’d totally eat it! Great recipe!

    Reply
    • Kristi says

      January 6, 2015 at 6:01 pm

      I completely understand Julie! The smell and the crunch when chopping them was almost to much for me, but I had to get over my fear! And, I’m glad I did, because the taste was amazing. But come over darling, and I will make it for you! 🙂

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Easy, Cheesy 5-Ingredient Pizza Pasta Bake - Two Healthy Kitchens says:
    April 23, 2015 at 5:34 am

    […] Puttanesca with Shredded Chicken from Kristi at Inspiration Chicken […]

    Reply

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Hi, I'm Kristi. If you're here because you love food like I do, you're in for a treat! I want to entertain, inspire & encourage you to take risks in the kitchen. Come join me! Learn More →

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