Perfect Pasta Puttanesca. Try saying that three times, fast. Chef Cal Peternell says the noodle dish is just right for a “late-night spaghettata, a meal of pasta eaten at an unusual hour,” say, midnight or whenever the urge strikes.
Actually, the word puttanesca means “dish made by a whore.” Now that needs an explanation. Supposedly it was a concoction made by ladies of the evening wanting something quick and easy to eat between customers. (All double entendres in the previous sentence were unavoidable.)
If the name doesn’t put you off, hopefully, the racy ingredients won’t either. There’s anchovies, capers and black olives—all ingredients found in a typical Italian kitchen. It’s the combo of flavors that enlivens this pasta, though the Northern Italian version leaves out the anchovies.
Rao—my favorite Italian tomato sauce maker—has a bottled Puttanesca, that I’ve spotted on line, but haven’t seen in the grocery yet.
Williams-Sonoma has a recipe and Martha has a great film clip, as does foodnetwork.com here and Peternell includes a recipe in his recent book Twelve Recipes.
