Spaghetti alla Puttanesca
It's been a busy week so here's another quick recipe for when you've had no time to hit the shops. It's easy to keep all of the ingredients in the cupboard so you can throw it together when nothing else presents itself. The name translates as 'whore's style spaghetti' and apparently originated because ladies of the night couldn't make it to the morning market for fresh ingredients. Sounds pretty dubious but if it is true then those ladies were onto something as it's cheap, quick and damn tasty.
- Two cloves of garlic, chopped up fine
- Tablespoon of capers, chopped a little
- 8-12 anchovy fillets diced
- 1 tsp dried chili flakes
- handful of olives chopped
- 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
- Spaghetti
Word of warning; for some reason passata doesn't really work here, at least it doesn't for me, so best use the chopped tomatoes.
Put the water on to boil for the spaghetti. Add a little olive oil to a pan big enough to accommodate everything and heat. Add the chopped anchovies and leave them, stirring occasionally, until they sort of melt into the oil. Add the garlic and cook for a minute or two. Add everything else to the pan, give it a stir and reduce the heat to low. Let it heat through so all the flavours amalgamate and it sits just below a simmer. Set aside about half a cup of the water the spaghetti was cooked in and add it a little at a time to the sauce just to loosen it up a bit (this really makes a difference). Drain the spaghetti and add it to the pan with the sauce, stirring to coat everything nicely.
The whole thing takes about 15 minutes and, with a little practice to get the balance to your liking, it's a great meal. It's not fancy but there is something really satisfying and a little chic in it's simplicity. It's also really good for lunch during summer while sitting outside in the sun with a glass of wine and some fresh bread. I guess you could add prawns or clams if you want, but I like it just as it is.
