Weeknight-Ready Puttanesca With Canned Wild Alaska Salmon

Many of us are spending more time at home, but that hasn't exactly translated to more time for cooking elaborate meals. Work and school keep marching on, in whatever forms they take, and our responsibilities have only grown more complicated. If you’ve just looked up and noticed it’s nearly time for dinner but you haven’t begun to make a plan, welcome a dinner superstar to your table: canned wild-caught salmon from Alaska. It’s tender and flaky, sustainably caught, and packed in natural oils.

Puttanesca is an Italian pasta sauce that starts with an umami-packed garlic and anchovy base. To really amp up the flavor, we opt for wild Alaska canned salmon instead of the traditional tuna. It doesn't hurt that the salmon also happens to be rich in vitamins, low in saturated fat, and high in heart-healthy omega-3 fats.

With a flurry of Pecorino Romano and some fresh herbs, this dish will look (and taste) like it took hours to pull together. Only you need to know the truth: that it takes just 15 minutes to prep and serve.

Weeknight-Ready Puttanesca With Canned Wild Alaska Salmon

Yield: Serves 4
Active time: 15 minutes
Total time: 15 minutes

Ingredients
1 pound dried spaghetti
Kosher salt
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
8 medium cloves garlic, thinly sliced or finely chopped by hand
6 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
Large pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 cup capers, drained and chopped
1/2 cup chopped pitted black olives
2 cups whole peeled tomatoes, preferably San Marzano, roughly broken up by hand
Small handful minced fresh parsley leaves
2 ounces finely grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tall can (14.75 ounces) wild Alaska sockeye salmon

Directions
1. Place spaghetti in a large pot and cover with water. Add a small pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally to prevent pasta from sticking.

2. Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, combine 1/2 cup oil, garlic, anchovies, and red pepper flakes. Cook over medium heat until garlic is very lightly golden, about 5 minutes. (Adjust heat as necessary to keep it gently sizzling.) Add capers and olives and stir to combine.

3. Add tomatoes, stir to combine, and bring to a gentle simmer. Continue to simmer until pasta is cooked to just under al dente (about 1 minute less than the package recommends).

4. Drain pasta through a colander, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water. Add drained pasta to skillet with sauce.

5. Add a few tablespoons of pasta water to sauce and increase heat to bring pasta and sauce to a vigorous simmer. Cook, stirring and shaking the pan and adding more pasta water as necessary to keep sauce loose, until pasta is perfectly al dente, 1 to 2 minutes longer. (The pasta will cook slower in the sauce than it did in the water.) Stir in remaining olive oil, parsley, and cheese.

6. Season with salt and pepper. (Be generous with the pepper and scant with the salt—the dish will be plenty salty from the other ingredients and Pecorino Romano is saltier than Parmesan.) Crumble in wild Alaska canned salmon and toss to warm. Serve immediately with more grated cheese at the table.