One of the simplest, fastest, and most satisfying ways to make a guest feel Italian is to sit them down in front of a good plate of spaghetti alla puttanesca. I have had non-Italians try this and other pasta dishes, and with puttanesca, there is always some comment related to what I have just assured you. I suppose it comes from the fact that spaghetti with tomato sauce is the first image that comes to mind for most mortals when they hear the word “pasta,” and because the anchovies, capers, and olives, with their natural flavor, reinforce the vividly intense image that is expected not only of food, but of everything related to Italian culture.
By the way, I have prepared a special video where I show you how to make pasta alla puttanesca step by step. It is one of my favorite recipes, and I think you will love the simplicity with which the explosion of flavors is combined.
Also, on my YouTube channel, I share many more recipes and cooking tips. Follow me there so you don’t miss any new videos. And follow me also on Instagram, where I post about dishes I am preparing.
Speaking of anchovies, I have several recipes on my blog that might interest you. Here are a few that are really worth it:
A pasta with butter and anchovies, which is a classic with an interesting twist.
Spaghetti with onion and anchovies Venetian style are a wonder; I’ll show you how to make them.
If you are looking for something greener, the pasta with broccoli and anchovies is perfect.
And for a quick appetizer, I recommend the anchovy, tomato, and ricotta mille-feuille. It is easy and turns out great.
Pasta alla puttanesca is Neapolitan, but they say the anchovies were added in Rome and its surroundings. So, the one I leave you here would be a Laziale puttanesca. Around the origin of the name, there are several stories that are quite picturesque, and yes, some related to prostitutes, such as the one that says the bright colors of this dish remind one of those that these professionals wore, inside and out, to attract the attention of their clientele, or that, since it is a dish made in a jiffy, the prostitutes had time to prepare it to eat something between clients.
By the way, speaking of prostitutes, one of my favorite characters in cinema of all time was the one with such a good heart and such bad luck played by Giulietta Masina in Nights of Cabiria by Fellini, not to mention the prostitute for a day played by Monica Vitti in the chapter directed by Monicelli Il Frigorifero, from the film Le Coppie. Perhaps deep down as sad as the other, but with situations and dialogues so surreal that at certain moments it is hilarious.
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The card
- 160g spaghetti
- 250g tomato pulp or canned tomatoes
- 1 garlic clove
- 3 anchovy fillets (canned in oil)
- 1 tablespoon salted capers
- 70g pitted black olives
- 1 peperoncino (small chili pepper, cayenne) optional
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 handful of taralli, breadsticks, or breadcrumbs
- Oregano
- Oil
- Salt
- If using fresh tomatoes, peel the tomatoes, open them, remove the seeds and the gelatinous part surrounding them, and cut them into small cubes.
- Wash and soak the capers to remove the salt, then chop them into small pieces.
- Pit the olives.
- Chop the anchovy fillets.
- Bring the water for the pasta to a boil. (Do not over-salt, as the sauce base already contains ingredients high in salt).
- Heat a couple of generous tablespoons of olive oil in a pan large enough to sauté the pasta in.
- Brown the garlic well and dissolve the anchovies over low heat.
- When the anchovies have dissolved, add the tomato.
- Let it sauté, and when it is almost done, add the capers and olives. Do not add salt without tasting it first. Depending on the type of anchovies and capers you use, it may not be necessary.
- In another pan, heat a couple of tablespoons of oil and toast the previously chopped taralli or breadcrumbs with a little oregano.
- Add the pasta to the pan 3 or 4 minutes before it is al dente so it absorbs the sauce better.
- Sauté the spaghetti with the sauce and half a ladle of the cooking water for about a minute.
- Serve very hot with a little parsley and the chopped, fried taralli on top.
