Legend has it that Pasta Puttanesca was the dish of choice by Italian ladies of the night. It certainly is a very satisfying dish for anyone who has worked up an appetite. I thought I'd spice up our midweek pasta and make my own version of puttanesca. I'm not quite sure how authentic this is and always feel a bit of a fraud when conjuring up Italian dishes without a drop of Italian blood running in my veins. Happily everyone seemed to like this, even the picky eater which was surprising, I thought she might be put off by the anchovies but they seemed to melt into the sauce leaving a delicious saltiness.
Pasta Puttanesca.
Olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon capers
3 anchovies, chopped
A handful of black olives, roughly chopped
1, 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
Fresh basil
1 splash of heavy cream (optional)
Parmesan cheese (freshly grated)
1 packet of spaghetti
Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Cook the spaghetti according to the package directions.
While the spaghetti is cooking start on the puttanesca sauce. Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan, add the finely chopped onion, sprinkle with salt to prevent it burning and saute on low for about 6-8 minutes.
Add the garlic, capers, anchovies and olives and stir well, cook for another minute or two. Add a good grinding of black pepper.
Add the can of crushed tomatoes, combine, bring to the boil then turn down to a simmer. Add a handful of the fresh basil and cook for 5-6 minutes.
When the spaghetti is cooked, strain, reserving a cup of the cooking water to add to the spaghetti if it becomes too dry.
Add a splash of the cream to the puttanesca sauce and a tablespoon of grated parmesan cheese, stir.
Pour over the spaghetti and combine well. If the sauce seems dry add a little of the pasta cooking water. Add more fresh basil, black pepper and parmesan if desired.
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