Washington - Let’s get it out of the way: yes, puttanesca literally translates to “of, relating to, or characteristic of a prostitute”, to quote the Oxford English Dictionary.
I’ll wait while you finish chortling. It seems that no food writer can resist elbowing their readers in the ribs, making ill-advised jokes and double entendres at the mere mention of pasta puttanesca.
The name is often said to have originated with old-time courtesans who ostensibly favoured it because it was quick enough to make in between appointments, or because it smelled so good while cooking that it lured clients in from the street.
But on further consideration, neither of these origin stories seems particularly plausible – I mean, sex workers aren’t the only people who appreciate quick, aromatic meals.
According to food historian Jeremy Parzen, the name has more to do with the practical use of puttanesca in Italian than its literal definition: Italians use puttana (and related words) almost the way we use s**t, as an all-purpose profanity, so pasta alla puttanesca might have originated with someone saying, essentially, “I just threw a bunch of s**t from the cupboard into a pan”.
Regardless of its etymology, that’s what puttanesca sauce is: a bunch of stuff from the cupboard, thrown into a pan. And it’s really good. That’s because the ingredients it relies on for flavour – garlic, capers, olives, anchovies, and crushed red pepper, primarily – are assertive, pungent, and invigorating.
Unlike traditional tomato sauce, which is tomatoey through and through, puttanesca sauce is a study in opposites. Anchovies and olives are salty where tomatoes are sweet, oily where tomatoes are watery, dark in colour where tomatoes are vivid. The combination of these contradictory ingredients is – to borrow a term from the label on my jar of capers – nonpareil.
There are two main errors people commit when making puttanesca sauce.
The first is not using enough garlic, capers, olives, anchovies, and crushed red pepper. I have seen recipes that call for a mere tablespoon of capers, only three or four anchovies, and a pinch of red pepper flakes, per large can of tomatoes. This is not enough. Throw your seasonings into the pot with abandon, and don’t hesitate to add an entire tin of anchovies: they melt into the sauce, adding an undertone of umami.
If you’re still scared, keep in mind that this is a sauce, not a soup: it’s supposed to be intensely flavoured, so as to keep your pasta interesting. (It doesn’t have to be pasta, though: I’m hard-pressed to think of a bean, vegetable, fish, or meat that wouldn’t be improved by puttanesca sauce.)
The second mistake is not adding lemon zest to their sauce. Lemon zest is not a frequent presence on puttanesca recipe ingredient lists, but it is a crucial. Lemon’s tanginess goes famously with fish, and with olives, and with capers, so why wouldn’t it go well with puttanesca sauce? Lemon turns a motley crew of pantry items into a sauce you don’t want to stop eating. – Slate
RECIPE
Serves 4
30ml olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
salt and black pepper
60 good-quality bottled anchovies in oil, drained
6 cloves of garlic, crushed
30ml tomato paste
2ml ground chilli
2x 390g box of Italian crushed tomatoes
30ml drained capers
125ml pitted black olives, chopped
15ml chopped fresh basil
grated rind of 1 lemon
300g spaghetti to serve
grated Parmesan to serve
Heat the olive oil in a pot over a medium high heat. Add the onion and some salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the anchovies and garlic and cook, stirring until the anchovies disintegrate and the garlic is soft, about 2-3 minutes.
Add the tomato paste and cook for a minute. Add the crushed tomatoes, capers and olives. Half cover and simmer stirring occasionally for 20-30 minutes until its thick and saucy. Stir in the basil and lemon rind. Adjust seasoning to taste. Take care as the anchovies and capers are very salty so season accordingly.
Cook the pasta according to directions until al dente, drain and combine with the sauce,. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese if desired.
Angela Day puts the sauce to the test
This is the best puttanesca sauce I have yet tasted. When making it , I was sceptical as to the quantity of anchovies used.
The sauce did taste quite strong after it had cooked down but adding the lemon rind was the magical moment which elevated the taste to unbelievable heights.Once mixed with the pasta the sauce tasted even better.
It is also important to use good-quality anchovies. The ones rolled around capers in tins will not cut it as they taste fishy. Look for bottles in the refrigerator section of supermarkets and good delis.
Use crushed Italian tomatoes as they have a sweeter flavour.
The Star
