Pasta Puttanesca

My mother would never say “whore’s pasta.” She wouldn’t even whisper it.

She might call Puttanesca “streetwalker pasta”, but I think “spaghetti with tomatoes, olives & capers” is more apropos. Paula Wolfert says Puttanesca was the dish Neapolitan prostitutes cooked up for “quick & lusty fortification.” Nice. I can’t tell you how many times a day I need quick & lusty fortification.

A brief, yet entertaining history via Wikipedia:

The name originated in Naples after the local women of easy virtue. Pasta Puttanesca means "The way a whore would make it", but the reason why the dish gained such a name is debated. One possibility is that the name is a reference to the sauce's hot, spicy flavour and smell. Another is that the dish was offered to prospective customers at a low price to entice them into a house of ill repute. According to chef Jeff Smith of the Frugal Gourmet, its name came from the fact that it was a quick cheap meal that prostitutes could prepare between customers.

How can you not want to eat that?

A few more reasons to love Puttanesca:
•Puttanescan ingredients are simple & easy to keep on hand, but the flavor combination is genius – tomatoes, anchovy, olives, garlic, red chile flakes, capers and parsley. It’s spicy, tangy, briny, herby and unctuous – and a good lashing of cheese at the end gives it a nice roundness.

•It freezes very well, making dinner a snap.

•Tomatoes are a great source of lypocene, a well-known cancer fighter, and consuming tomatoes with olive oil helps your body absorb it.

I’ve played around with this dish a lot & here’s how we like it in my house of ill repute:

Pasta Puttanesca
Serves 4

4 tablespoons really good extra virgin olive oil
1 1/4 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
4-6 anchovy filets finely chopped
1/4 - 1/3 teaspoon red chile flakes
1 28-ounce can organic whole tomatoes with juice
1/2 cup halved kalamata olives
1 1/2 tablespoons capers
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh Italian parsley
Squeeze of lemon juice, if needed to brighten sauce
Kosher salt & pepper, to taste
1/2 pound cooked spaghettini
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, to taste
Drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, to taste

1. Heat large saucepot over medium-high heat, add olive oil.

2. Add garlic, anchovy & chile flakes; quickly sauté until fragrant, but don’t brown, about 15 seconds.

3. Place fine-mesh strainer over saucepot & dump in tomatoes (the juice goes into pot and stops the garlic from burning, also draining tomatoes.)

4. Place tomatoes on cutting board & coarsely chop; add to sauce. Bring sauce to a boil. Tip: If strainer is kept over the pot during cooking, splattering is reduced, but the sauce still reduces & thickens.

5. Reduce heat to low; simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, tomatoes break down a little, and flavors meld together – about 15 minutes. Sauce can be prepared & frozen at this point.

6. When sauce is at the desired consistency, add olives, capers & parsley. Check the seasoning it usually doesn’t need salt or lemon juice because the olives & capers are salty & briny, but some pepper is usually good. Toss in pasta; stir to coat well.

7. Garnish with Parmigiano-Reggiano, parsley and a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. (Parm isn’t traditional, but life is short - if you want it, eat it.)

Suggested Wine Pairing: Sangiovese, Chianti, or Sicilian Nero d’Avola. Spicy dishes such as Puttanesca can make a high-alcohol or tannic wine seem hot, so choose an easy-going one with soft, juicy fruit, but with one enough acid to match the sauce's acid.

Comments

[m.k.]

That sounds fabulous, and perfect for the cooler weather. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I never knew the origins of the name before this.. I think it makes me like the dish even more!