Name: Spaghetti alla Puttanesca (Spaghetti with olives, capers and tomatoes)
Yield: Serves 4-5
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 2 oz (50 g) butter; 2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely; 1¾ oz (47 g) can of anchovy fillets, chopped; 2 tablespoons (2 X 15 ml spoon) capers, rinsed; 5 tablespoons (5 X 15 ml spoon) olive oil; 12 oz (350 g) spaghetti or vermicelli; 12 oz (350 g) fresh or canned tomatoes, peeled, de-seeded and chopped if fresh; 2 tablespoons (2 X 15 ml spoon) finely chopped parsley; 5 oz (150 g) black olives, stoned and halved; salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation info

Serves
4-5

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Pasta Italian Style

By Patricia Lousada

Published 1991

About

I was intrigued by this dish when I first came across it in a tiny restaurant in a notorious part of Naples. Its name celebrates the ladies of easy virtue that inhabit such areas-perhaps that’s why it’s so deliciously spicy! I serve it as a luncheon dish, followed by mixed green salad and cheese.

Ingredients

5 tablespoons (5 X 15 ml spoon) olive oil
2 oz (50

Method

Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan. Sauté the garlic and anchovies until the garlic is just beginning to colour. Add the capers, olives and tomatoes. Simmer gently for 20 minutes. Season well to taste. Cook the spaghetti ‘al dente’, drain and pour into the frying pan with the sauce. Cook together for a few minutes, sprinkle with the parsley and serve from the pan or transfer to a heated se