Pasta Alla Puttanesca

Hey Sana! Aw we're really sorry to hear this 😔 Thank you for being honest and for giving the recipe a try. If you'd like to share what made it ineble (was it the flavour, the texture, a certain ingredient?) we can help to troubleshoot. That said, taste is personal, and sometimes a recipe just doesn’t land for everyone. We appreciate you sharing your experience, and we hope the next recipe hits the mark for you 💛

Thanks for your reply. think the issue is the a) the whole garlic, and b) the Nori. Something about the whole garlic didn’t infuse the oil as successfully as sliced or minced garlic might. And while I think the nori/soy sauce are there to help provide umami to the tomato sauce, they just gave it a weird sort of alien flavor. The result tasted like olives on top of seaweed. I’ve had 100% success rate with your recipes that rely on miso, gochujang, and other umami sources, but this one just didn’t cohere for me.

Thanks so much for taking the time to share this, Sana. It's a huge help! For this vegan rendition of the recipe, we intentionally used whole garlic to keep the garlic flavour very mild. If you’d like a more pronounced garlic flavour, you can absolutely slice it (or mince it) before adding it to the oil. And you’re spot on about nori: we included it as an umami boost, but it can tip into a more “sea” forward note depending on the brand and how sensitive someone is to that flavour. In any case, I’m sorry the flavours weren’t to your liking. Your feedback is genuinely helpful as we develop and refine future recipes, so many thanks again. Also, I’m really happy to hear the miso and gochujang based recipes have been such a consistent hit for you overall <3

Hi hi, Jelena! You can definitely swap out the capers and olives if you’re not a fan. For a similar briny, savoury touch, you could try chopped roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, or artichoke hearts. They’ll still give the dish lots of flavour without a caper and olive taste. We hope you enjoy the pasta your own ☺️

And I did replace the nori by kombu seaweed !

I agree! Just read this comment a bit late 😂

Hey Kristina, we're sad to hear the pasta wasn't a 5-star experience. The recipe might be overly sour due to the olives, capers, and canned tomatoes, which are all naturally acidic. Reducing the amount of these ingredients can help balance the flavour. You could also increase a bit the amount of sugar to your liking, in case you give the pasta another try 😊

This is very helpful! Thank you for the tip.

Hi Flora, if seaweed isn't available, you can omit it or replace it with a dash of umami-rich ingredients like miso paste or soy sauce to mimic its savoury flavour. We hope you enjoy the pasta if you give it a try 😊

Aw we're so happy that the pasta was enjoyed, friend, thank you! 🫶

A lovely idea to add syrup in place of the sugar, Hono! Thanks a bunch for sharing your experience with the pasta ☺️

Hey Jamie, perhaps you can try sun-dried tomatoes or marinated artichoke hearts :)

Hey Eden, so happy the recipes are being enjoyed, and thanks for the question! We prefer canned tomatoes in some dishes (mainly when the tomato is cooked down) because they're picked at peak ripeness which offers a consistent taste and they also offer a consistent acidity. They're convenient to have on hand as well. We hope this helps for now and happy cooking 🤗

Awww such a massive compliment, Meg - thank you!