Pasta Puttanesca

55.    Can you suggest creative recipes for making dinner with what’s in the house?

It's dinner time and you have no idea what to make...imagine if you had only a little time before you had to get back to work....

Pasta Puttanesca is an easy recipe that can be made with items you should have in your cupboard. "Whore's Pasta" as it is sometimes translated originated in Southern Italy's red light district. The origin of the pasta's name, it is sometimes said, that the dish smells so wonderful, customers would be lured into the brothel. An alternate explanation is that the dish was simply something that working women could whip together quickly in between customers.

Either way, it's good and the addition of anchovies or anchovy paste is the Umami-rich ingredient that makes the sauce so enticing. Make some tonight and you'll be saying "Ohh Mommy!" before your plate is clean. 

Pasta Puttanesca

I first had this Italian dish served to me by an Amercan ex-pat and his Chinese wife in Hong Kong. He placed a fragrant hot bowl of pasta on my place mat and announced "Whore's Pasta!" Note to the the guys: if it's a first time female guest, make sure she's got a sense of humor before you try that one!

Ingredients:

• Fresh, or good quality canned, tomatoes
• Anchovy fillets or paste, to taste
• Capers (if salt-packed, rinse well)
• Garlic (2-4 cloves crushed)
• Olives, optional (Gaeta or other black olives)
  
• Fresh Italian Parsley
• Red pepper flakes
• Good quality olive oil

To prepare:

1. Place large pot of water on to boil.
2. In large serving bowl, mash drained anchovy fillets.
3. Drain and rinse capers, add to bowl.
   
4. Pit olives if using, add to bowl.
   
5. Add crushed garlic, crush tomatoes or chop if using fresh.
6. Add chopped fresh Italian parsley and crushed red pepper flakes.
   
7. Add 1/4 C - 1/2 C olive oil, depending on how juicy the tomatoes are and how thick you like your sauce.
8. When the pasta is done, toss in bowl with the sauce and serve.

Notes on ingredients:

Capers:

Capers are not peppercorns, but the unopened flower buds of the caper bush. They typically come in tiny little jars of brine. If you find salted ones, they are far superior in taste and texture, just be sure to rinse of the salt before using them. Tip for removing the tiny capers from a jar of brine: use the small end of your melon-baller.

Anchovies:

Many people hate anchovies because they only know of them as the overly salty, fishy little fish on top of pizzas. I had one friend who swore she hated them because she couldn't bear to look at the antennae. It took some convincing to tell her those were bones, but I don't think it changed her mind about eating them.

Today, it's much easier to find good quality anchovies and with the increasing awareness of umami and its benefits to food, this trend should continue. A little bit of anchovy, or anchovy paste, or even Asian fish sauce will give your dish a savory, deep flavor without adding fishiness. 

Anchovies come in tins, packed in oil, or in tubes. For the uninitiated, I'd recommend getting a tube of the paste and experimenting with just a bit in your sauce. You'll find more and more uses for it once you've got some on hand. Caesar salad dressing, dips, bagna cauda, aioli.

Pasta:

Choosing pasta for your sauce is a matter of preference but there are some things to keep in mind. For hearty or thicker sauces you want a shape that will hold up and catch the sauce. Penne, Orichiette (little ears), Gemelli, Fusilli, Farfalle. If you're making a smooth and lighter sauce, go with a Capellini, or thin Spaghetti.

For this dish I prefer a Fusilli or Gemelli.

Always boil your pasta with a generous amount of salt, added after it comes to the boil. Italians like to say it should taste like the sea. Use Kosher or Sea Salt to avoid off-flavors of Iodized salt. That is only good for cleaning.