Whore Pasta! (Pasta alla Puttanesca)
I first heard about whore pasta when I was a little kid watching Lidia Bastianich make it on her PBS cooking show. I remember her describing it as something “pungent, briny and spicy” that’s made with inexpensive, easily accessible ingredients. It’s something that’s perfect for the purported “woman of the night.”
..and it’s apparently also perfect for me. 😀
I base my whore pasta on Rachel Ray’s recipe. I’d recommend getting all of the ingredients at Trader Joe’s, since everything there is cheap and high quality.
Ingredients (Er, I always eyeball measurements. This makes about 3 meals’ worth for me.):
Spaghetti (half a pack)
Olive Oil (2 tablespoons)
Garlic (5 cloves)
Capers (3 tablespoons)
Pitted Kalamata Olives (1/2 cup)
Red Pepper Flakes
Anchovies (2 or 3 filets)
Canned Tomatoes (diced or roasted works well)
Herbs (basil/oregano–fresh or dried)
Parmesan Cheese (or a hard cheese)
Greens (arugula or in this case, zucchini)
+ a poached egg for extra happiness!
For the pasta: Boil a pot of water!
For the sauce: Put the minced garlic and red pepper flakes with the olive oil in a heated pan to let the flavors bloom. Then, add minced capers and olives to the mix, along with a couple of anchovy filets. The anchovies will dissolve, and the caper/garlic/olive mix will start to smell amazing. Add the tomatoes, and let it all heat through. The herbs/arugula come last–just let them wilt a bit. When I used zucchini, I boiled it in the pasta water.
Cook your pasta until it’s just before al dente, and then finish cooking it in the sauce so it can absorb all the briny goodness. Take the pan off the heat, and then add the cheese.
Top your plate with a poached egg, and then enjoy!
**Side note: If you’re planning multiple meals with this recipe, I would only finish the pasta that you plan on eating immediately in the sauce. I’ve found that when I eat leftover pasta that’s already sauced, the flavors tend to mellow out after refrigeration and reheating, and it doesn’t taste nearly as good. So, if you’re going to tupperware some of it, don’t incorporate the spaghetti into the sauce–pack it in into your food storage container in layers, and mix them together when you’re ready to eat.
This one sounds good too. My Italian family makes it different, but I think many Italians put there own twist to it. I’ve made Lydia’s before too, and loved it.
Thanks! I feel like I never do anything “authentically,” I just go with whatever I have on hand. If you want to share your recipe, I’d love to give it a try!
Thanks, yours looks yummy. My family (grandma specifically) uses black olives and tuna. However, I prefer the green Greek olives and usually use those instead of the black my grandma used. Can’t use a lot of them (Green) though, because they are salty. Thanks for stopping by my blog. 🙂
oooh! thanks for the tip! 😀 😀 😀
Wow, Lidia! That brings back memories 🙂 I loved her cooking style – everything is made better with more olive oil!!