'pasta alla puttanesca'

'pasta alla puttanesca', or ‘whore’s pasta’ as it is translated is a quit modern dish that came in to being in the 1960s.  Apparently, it gets its name from the fact that it is slapped together with things from jars and tins and not from fresh ingredients from the market. I assume that the reliance on convenience food is because who ever is making it is very busy doing other things.  However, it does make a rather tasty and refreshing dish and if you have every thing at hand only takes a little time to make.

Ingredients

3 tbsp olive oil

8 anchovy fillets

2 tsp chopped garlic out of a jar

½ tsp chopped chilli out of a jar

500g/1lb 2oz spaghetti

400g/14oz canned chopped tomatoes

150g/5oz pitted black olives

2 tbsp small capers

½ a glass of white wine

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2–3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

To make this is incredibly easy , first get your water on to cook your pasta bring it to the boil and add you pasta.

Now in frying pan pop your anchovy with a little olive oil.  Squash then and cook them so they disintegrate.  Now add the garlic and chilli out of a jar stir this round  and then add the tin of chopped tomatoes.

Now your pasta will be about cooked so strain this in to a colander but save about a cup or so of the water from the pasta.

Now add to the white wine , cappers and the black olives to the sauce. Taste and season with salt and pepper if you need to.  Let it all reduce for a while then add your cooked pasta and some of the water you have saves from the pasta cooking to help it all combine together .  Make sure that all your past is cover and then serve in a bowl with a sprinkled of chopped parsley.

I do not know but I am guessing that this dish is looked down on as it name would imply   that it is not the very best in Italian cooking. But it is very tasty all the same.