Puttanesca originates in Naples and means "whore's pasta" (the Italian word puttana means whore). According to legend, the prostitutes who worked in Naples' brothels in the Spanish Quarters had neither the time nor the money to procure fresh ingredients. They took what was available in the pantry and created this amazingly flavorful sauce, which is one of Italy's most famous and popular pasta sauces. Make a large batch and freeze. It is perfect as a sauce on pizza. Here you will find our version of the popular sauce.
You will need
14 oz Linguine or spaghetti
1/3 cup olive oil
0.88 oz butter
1 relatively large yellow onion, chopped
2 whole peperoncino
6 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
3.5 oz pitted olives, preferably black, chopped into large pieces
0.42 cup capers, drained and chopped
21 oz crushed tomatoes
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt
0.42 cup finely chopped parsley
1–2 tsp honey
Parmesan, finely grated
Optionally pecorino, finely grated
Parsley to sprinkle over, finely chopped
How to make it
1. Heat up olive oil and butter in a pot. Add the chopped yellow onion and peperoncino and fry at medium temperature until the onion is transparent but not colored.
1/3 cup olive oil
0.88 oz butter
1 relatively large yellow onion, chopped
2 whole peperoncino
2. Add anchovies and garlic and fry while stirring for a couple of minutes so that the anchovies melt.
6 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
3. Add olives and capers and stir around.
3.5 oz pitted olives, preferably black, chopped into large pieces
0.42 cup capers, drained and chopped
4. Pour on the tomatoes and salt and pepper. Let stand and simmer on medium heat for about 1 hour.
21 oz crushed tomatoes
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt
5. Add the honey towards the end of the cooking time. If needed taste with salt, pepper, crumbled peperoncino and more honey.
1–2 tsp honey
6. Pour plenty of water into a saucepan. Put on a lid and bring to a boil. When the water boils, add salt. Cook the pasta al dente according to the instructions on the package but 1–2 minutes shorter because it will cook with the sauce. Reserve some pasta water if the sauce needs to be diluted.
14 oz Linguine or spaghetti
½ tbsp of salt per 34 fl. oz of water
7. Add chopped parsley to the sauce and stir to mix.
0.42 cup finely chopped parsley
8. Add the cooked pasta into the sauce and cook on medium heat for a minute or two. Make sure the pasta doesn’t ger over cooked (or under cooked). Dilute the sauce with a little pasta water if needed.
9. Serve on plates and sprinkle over parsley and grated cheese.
Parmesan, finely grated
Optionally pecorino, finely grated
Parsley to sprinkle over, finely chopped
Tip 1: Add salt to the pasta water only when it boils. Otherwise, the salt makes the water boil up slower.
Tip 2: Make several batches and freeze. In addition to pasta, the sauce is also suitable for fried chicken and as a pizza sauce.
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