Pasta Alla Puttanesca

Pasta in a sloppy way…

As with most dishes, there are different legends where it comes from. Some date back to the mid-19th century where, depending on the source, brothel owners in Rome or Naples, they offered it to their customers.
Others indicate the origin on the island of Ischia and explain the name with the indiscriminate throwing together of ingredients that were just there and thus on a somewhat sloppy preparation.

The olives, capers and hot peppers taste very strong in this dish which is rare for the rather mild Italian cuisine. Typical, however, are the few and simple ingredients with which a very tasty tomato-based sauce is prepared which differs in taste clearly from others.

Ingredients (2 servings):

200 g Pasta
50 g Gaeta olives (black olives can also be used)
10 g capers
1 clove of garlic
350 g tomatos
a few dried hot peppers
parsley
dried tomatoes (about 50 g)
2 – 3 tablespoons olive oil
Pecorino (matured sheep cheese)

Preparation:

First of all the tomatoes must be peeled. Cut all the tomatoes crosswise and put them briefly in boiling water, so that the skin can be easily removed.
The olives are pitted and cut into small pieces.
The capers and dried tomatoes are also cut into small pieces and the parsley is chopped.
At the same time as the water for the pasta is being put on, heat the olive oil in a pan and lightly fry the clove of garlic over a medium heat.
Once the clove of garlic has browned a little, add all the other ingredients (except the pecorino) and cook on a low heat.
As soon as the pasta water boils, add salt and when it starts to boil again add the pasta.
If the sauce in the pan becomes too dry, simply add a spoonful of the pasta water to the sauce in the pan.
Once the pasta is al dente, drain it and add it to the sauce in the pan.
Stir everything well once again, place on a plate and sprinkle with the pecorino.

Tips…

It is not absolutely necessary to peel the tomatoes. I always do it because I don’t want the tomato peel in my food. The taste does not change if the tomatoes are used unpeeled.
Instead of the dried tomatoes you can also use tomato paste. If you have neither of them, use a little more tomatoes and let it boil down longer.