This hearty spaghetti dish is as spicy and rich as its origins. Packed with flavours of tomato, red wine and anchovy, this dish is not only a crowd pleaser but can be made in advance and freezes well.
Said to have originated in the brothels of the Spanish Quarters ‘Puttana’ meaning whore in Italian. The simple and long lasting dried, brined and oiled ingredients would have been easy for a lady of the night to throw together in the evening to create a delicious simple dish.
You can adjust the heat of the dish to your own taste but in our opinion a little chilli kick is essential.
Serves 4-6 people
Ingredients
75g anchovies
200g black olives halved
2 fat garlic cloves crushed
1 glass red wine
50g capers
½ tin chopped tomatoes
200g halved Pomodoro or cherry tomatoes
1 red onion diced
1 red chilli finely chopped
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
2 heaped tsp dried oregano
1 red pointed pepper
1 tsp sugar
large handful basil
good slug olive oil
500g dried spaghetti or linguine
Method
Add a good glug of olive oil in a large pan (big enough to accommodate cooked spaghetti afterwards) gently fry dried chilli flakes, diced chilli and onion, add peppers and garlic and continue to cook until peppers are softening.
Add red wine and reduce, then add anchovies capers tomato paste and cook for a further 2 minutes.
Add all tomatoes and a teaspoon of sugar and simmer until the sauce has reduced by 1/3.
Add olives and capers and set aside.
Cook spaghetti or linguine in a large pot of salted water, usually takes 10-12 minutes.
Add spaghetti to the sauce and toss through, you can add a spoonful of salted pasta water if the sauce needs loosening.
Sprinkle through with torn basil or more traditionally parsley and enjoy.
We quite like a good grating of parmesan (not usually done with Italian dishes containing fish) but hey ho… it tastes good!
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