And finally…
Summer is long gone but i’m pretty sure my fellow Mancunians would agree that the sun hardly flickered it’s rays this far north west of England. And with it, departs the unspoken house rule of less pasta and pork dishes during the ‘warmer months’ due to their respectively high calories (depending on the sauce) and fat content.
"I am inclined to as inconspicuously as possible have my way!" Share on X
As winter looms there is the seemingly constant need to reach out for hot chocolate and warm soups, spicy stews, and pasta (in my case) what can I say, i love the stuff! That said, I am inclined to as inconspicuously as possible have my way. How?
By incorporating as much pasta as I can squeeze into the weekly menu. So be it pasta e fagioli (pasta with beans) or pasta with the spicy puttanesca sauce made from a blend of anchovies, capers, black olives, and finely chopped red chili peppers. Take your pick, either way, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.
Eh ehm, doesn’t puttanesca mean?…
Yes, puttanesca comes from the word puttana which in Italian translates to prostitute. Now I’m not sure which account is the true version, however, word has it that prostitutes preferred this recipe for its fragrant scent. Which apparently worked ‘the magic’ of luring in clients. This may or may not be true but it sure did make me curious enough to try.
If you want a somewhat smooth, slightly chunky, and thick sauce, then use a pureed can of tomatoes. Otherwise, for a more chunky sauce, you can opt for a can of plum tomatoes which you would roughly chop instead of blend. But as you would have less liquid, that means the ‘reducing time’ would decrease. So keep an eye on it until the desired consistency is reached before tossing in the pasta.
Use the leftover anchovies to make sfincione, however, if you’re short of time just make the sfincione sauce and freeze for later. You can do the same for the puttanesca sauce.
I prefer spaghetti, but you can use another type of long pasta like bucatini.
Storage:
Not recommended
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Spaghetti alla puttanesca
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Loading...Heat up boring winter nights with this spicy spaghetti alla puttanesca. Or just show off with this well known pasta recipe!
Ingredients
- 190g Spaghetti
- Olive oil
- 10 Pitted black olives
- 5 Capers
- 2 Whole garlic cloves
- 6 Anchovies(20g)
- 1 Fresh red bird's eye chilli
- 400g Canned plum tomatoes
Instructions
Let the water run through the capers to dilute the saltiness
Very finely chop the anchovies, chilli, capers and 5 black olives- it should look almost like a paste when fried. If preferred you can use a blender
Puree the tomatoes and sieve out the seeds
Bring 1.5 litres of water to boil as you prepare the sauce
Heat the pan over high heat then pour in 4 tbsp of oil and the garlic cloves.
Tilt the pan to form a puddle around the garlic and turn them every few seconds. Let the garlic infuse in the olive oil for 40 seconds and take them out before they start to brown
Toss in the chopped ingredients and leave to fry for about 1-2 minutes. Pour in the tomato sauce, pinch of salt and whole olives and leave to reduce on medium heat for 7 minutes occasionally stirring.
While the sauce reduces, add 1/2 tsp of salt and pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente
If the sauce is ready before the pasta take it off the fire. Otherwise if it is only a matter of 2-3 minutes until the pasta is ready you can leave the sauce on the fire at the lowest heat just to keep it warm.
When the pasta is ready, drain and mix well with the sauce.
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