Spaghetti with Tomatoes, Capers, Olives and Anchovies (Pasta alla puttanesca)
“Puttana” means prostitute and this is the pasta dish she would use to seduce her clients. While I cannot guarantee its success as an aphrodisiac, I can at least guarantee that your partner will enjoy the food!
Ingredients:
- 1 lb dried, store-bought pasta (spaghetti, also good with spaghettini, penne lisce)
- 1/3 cup plus 2 Tb extra-virgin olive oil
- 6 anchovy filets, chopped
- 1/2 tsp finely chopped garlic
- 3 cups canned whole peeled tomatoes, with their juice, coarsely chopped
- Salt
- 2 tsps coarsely chopped fresh oregano or 1/2 tsp dried
- 2 Tbs capers
- 8-10 black olives, pitted and julienned
Preparation:
Put all but 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and all the anchovies in a large skillet over a low heat and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the anchovies dissolve. Add the garlic and cook for about 15 seconds, taking care not to brown it. Raise the heat to medium-high and add the tomatoes with a pinch of salt. When the sauce comes to a boil, turn the heat down and simmer until the tomatos have reduced and separated from the oil: 20-40 minutes depending on the size of the skillet. Remove from the heat and set aside.
You can prepare the sauce ahead of time up to this point and refrigerate it.
Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large saucepan or pot, add 1 tablespoon of salt and the pasta, stirring until the strands are submerged. When the pasta is halfway done, return the skillet with the sauce to a medium heat, adding the oregano, capers and olives. When the pasta is cooked “al dente”, drain and toss with the sauce in the skillet over a low heat, adding the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Taste for salt and serve at once.
From: Giuliano Hazan
The Classic Pasta Cookbook
1993, London and New York, Dorling Kindersley
Used with permission