Madam's Pasta

A couple of nights ago we were watching Jamie Oliver's show on Netflix, the episode where he was making Pasta Puttanesca. I always forget about this dish but it is one of my favorites. This is a sauce that incorporates all your favorite salty things (olives, anchovies, capers) with tomatoes, garlic, and basil. I'm not exactly sure why this pasta is named such, translated as "the prostitutes' pasta." Among the theories: the short amount of time it takes to make, because we all know a good lady-of-the-evening is a busy girl; maybe the salty/sweet combination. Or because its gorgeous smell made people want to come to the brothel. Nothing says "I love you for the next 10 minutes" like food, after all. Who cares, it's delicious. It comes from the Southern part of Italy, Naples and the Campagnia region. This does indeed explain the anchovies and the olives...and I suppose the prostitutes too.

So to make this sauce you can go a number of routes, but here's the one we did last night - pretty yummy...

Olive oil

4-5 cloves of smashed and chopped garlic

1 cup of chopped mixed olives, pits removed...(kalamata, big green ones, gaeta, doesn't matter as long as they're salty) - We used half cracked green/half kalamata

1 tin of flat anchovies in Oil, chopped - SAVE the oil

1/4 cup drained capers (if you'd like more, go for it)

Pinch of chili flakes

1-1.5 cup crushed/pureed tomatoes from can or garden - Jamie O used whole canned that he chopped up but I like the saucy feel of the puree.

Basil, a nice punch maybe 10-12 big leaves torn or sliced

(Get everything chopped and ready cause this sauce moves FAST, that includes having your water on the boil when you start)

Pour the olive oil from the anchovies into a saute pan, add enough extra from a bottle to get at least 2-3 tablespoons of oil in there. Saute the garlic till it starts to turn golden then add the anchovies and saute till they start to break up. Add the olives and capers with the chili flakes. At this point put the pasta in your boiling salted water - we used Linguine - cook till just before they reach the al dente phase while you finish the sauce (say 5 minutes if they're like spaghetti or linguine, a minute or two more if they are thicker noodles). Once those ingredients have sauteed for a couple of minutes add the tomatoes. Simmer while the noodles get to that "just under-cooked" point. Add the pasta to the saute pan to finish cooking, adding water from the pot to thin the sauce if it gets too thick. When the pasta reaches "done" (aka al dente) toss in the chopped basil and enjoy. DO NOT top with cheese. It doesn't really go.

I scarfed it. Not very lady like, but puttans are just slightly less than elegant society so I suppose it works. If you're looking to shake up your pasta I really recommend it. We had a grilled fennel salad with shallot-Dijon dressing in addition , and a Tempranillo which cut the salt nicely. Not a half bad Monday night dinner.