Pasta Puttanesca

My first taste of this classic Italian pasta sauce was at Café Buongiorno in Norwood, Adelaide.  

The name Puttanesca actually translated in colloquial Italian to mean Whore's Pasta - a naughty reference to its bold combination of heady flavours - tangy, spicy and salty. 

Strangely, it's rare to find Puttanesca sauce on many Italian eateries' menu here in Malaysia.  I'm guessing that it's probably due to the use of western brined anchovies that's not too familiar for most Asian palates (I love it though).  It's actually very easy to make, all the ingredients are pantry items that are easily available. 


Pasta Puttanesca
Makes enough sauce for 4 regular pasta servings

• 3 tbspn tomato puree
• 3 medium size ripened tomatoes, cut into small chunks
• 2 tbspn capers
• 20 kalamatta olives, pitted
• 3 fat cloves of garlic
• 1 jar of brined anchovies, 60g
• 1 red onion, diced
• 1/2 tbspn chicken stock powder
• 1/2 tbspn dried chilli flakes (I omitted as I am serving this to my son)
• Salt and freshly cracked black pepper

1.  Put the tomatoes, capers, olives, garlic and anchovies into a blender and pulse into a rough paste.

2.  Heat some oil in a pot and sautéed the onions and garlic until softened.  Pour in the paste.  Add 1/3 cup of water.
3  Bring the sauce to a bubble, turn down to simmer for 20minutes.
4.  Add in the chicken stock powder, chilli flakes and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Pour over cooked pasta and toss to coat evenly.  Serve warm with a side green salad.