Pro Shortcuts for
KILLER PASTA
GOT DRIED PASTA AND THE FRIDGE OF A
BACHELOR? YOU CAN DO THIS.- • •At Felix Trattoria, his restaurant in
southern California, and in American
Sfoglino, his new cookbook, chef Evan
Funke preaches the gospel of making pasta
by hand. And we are believers: Esquire
named Felix the best new restaurant in
America in 2017. But let’s be blunt. When
you come home drained after a hard day at
work, the last thing you want to do is spend
hours rolling out delicate sheets of dough.
So we’ve asked Funke for some delectable
shortcuts. The idea here, with these kitchen
hacks (find two more at Esquire.com), is that
you’re using supermarket pasta straight out
of the box, but instead of flooding it with red
sauce from a jar, you’re creating something
significantly more delicious with a few items
you can quickly pluck from the pantry and
the fridge: anchovies, garlic, olives, canned
tomatoes. Funke’s recipes are, yes, blunt—
in the best possible way. They’re straight-
forward and swift, and they represent an al-
ternative gospel for those who don’t have
the energy to make pasta from scratch: At
the close of every day, you deserve some-
thing delicious. —J. G.Evan Funke’s
Puttanesca
What you need:- can of tomatoes
- spaghetti
- olive oil
- garlic
- anchovy or 2
- pitted green or
black olives
If you have them: - basil
- capers
- Drain the tomatoes,
then crush them with
your hands and toss out
the tops where the stems
used to be. Set aside.
2. Start cooking the spa-
ghetti per instructions on
the box, but easy on the
salt since you’re using an-
chovies and olives.
3. In a pan with olive oil,
add the basil, chopped gar-
lic, and anchovy. Heat and
stir for a minute. Add the
tomatoes, and then, when
the pasta is close to done,
the olives and capers.
4. Strain the cooked
pasta. Keep a bit of the
water and toss the pasta
in the pan until all of it is
nicely coated. Add pasta
water if it’s too dry.
5. Garnish with basil and
more olive oil. Eat.