The Prostitute’s Sauce — “Puttanesca”

This is one of my favorite pasta sauces. It is mildly piquant, succulent and cooks in less than thirty minutes. I am not always sure if my esteem for this sauce is based entirely on its pungent flavors or for its “saucy” lineage. Moreover, making a sauce with the past that this one has, brings out a cheeky part of me that is fun to revisit.

The name Puttanesca comes from the Italian word Puttana—which means whore. There are many tales of how this recipe came into being. This is the version that was told to me by my good friend Julio Piccole, over a bowl of Pasta Puttanesca, in an Italian Restaurant in New York City many years ago.

Late one night in Naples Italy, a popular, local trattoria was in the process of closing down for the evening. The owner, the only person left in the trattoria, heard tapping on the kitchen door leading to the back alley. To his surprise, he found standing in the doorway, two beautiful, sultry women. Their raven colored hair shimmered in the moonlight. Each of their faces beamed with imploring, dark eyes, set against silky smooth, olive toned skin. He was taken aback by their loveliness and was no match for this chance encounter.

Composing himself, he recognized them as two of the prostitutes that frequented the area. They politely apologized for their untimely appearance at his trattoria but they were tired and very hungry and would happily pay for a meal, if he would be kind enough to accommodate them. Being a gentleman and not wanting to be discourteous or turn away paying customers, he graciously seated them and proceeded to explain that the kitchen staff had left but he would be happy to put together something for them.
Hurrying back to the kitchen in somewhat of a frenzied state, he was in a quandary as to what he could serve them. He knew his task would not be an easy one. This night’s dinner business had been one of his busiest and as luck would have it everything was gone. Not a thin slice of veal remained or a piece of chicken, not a filet of fish, or even one measly sausage— nothing! There was of course enough pasta but not one spoonful was left of his wonderful marinara sauce that simmers for hours, full of tomatoes, herbs and spices. He scoured the kitchen from top to bottom; searching everywhere, looking for something to make a sauce that would please the two beautiful women who were waiting to eat. This is the sauce he made.

Puttanesca Sauce

Ingredients:

¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil
2-3 cloves fresh garlic, chopped, sliced or minced to personal preference
4 large of 6 medium sized fresh Roma tomatoes, chopped into 4 to 6 pieces depending on their size.
1 tablespoon capers
2 tablespoons pitted, slice black olives or black Gaeta olives if available
One 2oz can of anchovy filets in olive oil (prefer Trader Joe’s brand)
Salt
This recipe serves 2 people; for 4 to 6 servings double the ingredients.

In a large fry pan heat the olive oil, and then reduce the flame and sauté the chopped garlic for 2 minutes or until it is tender, taking care not to brown the garlic pieces. Now add the chopped tomatoes. Cooked the tomatoes for 2 to 3 minutes or until they start to soften and add the capers, olives and anchovies, including the olive oil from its can.
Simmer this mélange, uncovered, on a low flame, for about 20 minutes. In this short period of time the anchovies will dissolve and all the flavors will coalesce, creating an intriguing and memorable pasta sauce. As a note, I do not bother peeling the tomatoes for this sauce; the tiny bits of skin that remain add a touch more flavor to the sauce.
If more cooking liquid is needed add some white wine instead of water or try some of the white vermouth that we all seem have sitting in our liquor cabinet, waiting for those martinis we never seem to make. Salt to taste a minute or two before the sauce is finished cooking but not before; this ensures that all the flavors are released and we will not add any unnecessary salt.

That is the story of the pasta sauce called “Puttanesca” as it was told to me. It is a quick, easy to make, savory sauce that adds zest and panache to an ordinary bowl of pasta.

Serve Puttanesca Sauce over any type of pasta and sprinkle it generously with freshly grated parmesan cheese and chopped fresh parsley. Add a crusty loaf of bread, a glass of Sangiovese or Chianti with Pasta Puttanesca and we have a meal worthy of our trattoria in Naples Italy and the two beautiful women who inspired the recipe.

Enjoy!