Sardine Puttanesca Sauce, Five Jars for the Week
A big batch of tomato sauce built on tinned sardines, kalamata olives, and capers, split into five jars so a pasta dinner is just a pot of boiling water away.
Why it works
Sardines are one of the most concentrated whole-food sources of EPA and DHA, the two omega-3 fats that make up a large share of the fat in brain cell membranes, and cohort studies link regular oily fish intake to a slower rate of cognitive decline with age. Because sardines are small, eaten bones and all, and low on the food chain, they carry a fraction of the mercury of larger predatory fish, so they can be eaten several times a week without the caution that applies to tuna or swordfish. Tomatoes release more of their lycopene once they're cooked down in olive oil: heat breaks apart the plant cell walls that hold the pigment, and the oil helps the body absorb it. Olive oil supplies monounsaturated fat and polyphenols that are central to the Mediterranean pattern's cardiovascular evidence base. Olives, capers, and the brine the sardines come packed in all add real sodium, so this dish needs no extra salt at the table.
Draws on the oily-fish evidence within DASH and Mediterranean dietary patterns, where cohort studies link regular intake to better triglyceride and blood pressure numbers. The cognitive link is thinner: it rests mostly on observational studies comparing habitual fish eaters to non-eaters, not on trials that isolated sardines specifically.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp red chili flakes
- 4 × 120 g tins sardines in olive oil, drained (bones in)
- 200 g pitted kalamata olives, roughly chopped
- 3 tbsp capers, drained and rinsed
- 2 × 400 g tins crushed tomatoes
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- A large handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 350 g dried spaghetti or linguine (about 70 g per portion), cooked fresh each time you reheat a jar
Method
- Warm the olive oil in a wide, deep pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and chili flakes and cook for about a minute, just until the garlic turns fragrant; it burns quickly, so keep it moving.
- Add the olives, capers, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and oregano. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly.
- Break the sardines into large flakes with a fork and fold them into the sauce along with the parsley. Simmer for 2 more minutes, just to warm the fish through; longer than that and it turns dry.
- Let the sauce cool, then divide it among five jars or airtight containers. Refrigerate what you'll eat within five days, and freeze the rest.
- To serve one portion, cook 70 g of pasta according to the package instructions while a jar of sauce warms gently in a pan. Drain the pasta, toss it through the sauce, and serve.
