red or green?: Pasta Puttanesca with Roasted Garlic

My husband loves pasta. He loves garlic. He loves anchovies. He loves spicy. Pasta Puttanesca is a no-brainer in terms of one of his favorite recipes.

Tomatoes, garlic, caramelized onion, anchovies, capers and olives slow cooked and then stirred into hot pasta. How good does that sound? Puttanesca, an Italian term, translates to "in the style of the whore". There are so many stories about how this dish got its name. Most say something along the lines of " a quick cooking, fragrant dish that prostitutes ate before beginning their nightly work". I somehow doubt that garlic and anchovies were conducive to a robust business! :) I think the more likely...albeit less provocative explanation... is provided by an Italian newspaper:

In a 2005 article from Il Golfo—a daily newspaper serving the Italian islands of Ischia and Procida—Annarita Cuomo asserted that sugo alla puttanesca was invented in the 1950s by Sandro Petti, co-owner of Rancio Fellone, a famous Ischian restaurant and nightspot. According to Cuomo, Petti's moment of inspiration came when—near closing one evening—Petti found a group of customers sitting at one of his tables. He was low on ingredients and so told them he didn't have enough to make them a meal. They complained that it was late and they were hungry. "Facci una puttanata qualsiasi," or "Make any kind of garbage," they insisted.^a[›]Petti had nothing more than four tomatoes, two olives and some capers—the basic ingredients for the sugo, “So I used them to make the sauce for the spaghetti,” Petti told Cuomo. Later, Petti included this dish on his menu as spaghetti alla puttanesca. (provided by Wikipedia)

Whatever the origin, the dish is delicious. My recipe uses roasted garlic instead of fresh. Peter describes the finished result as a softer and more elegant version. Try it tonight and please let me know what you think. The recipe for roasted garlic allows you to roast as many garlic heads as you wish. Trust me...make at least a 1/2 dozen. You will thank me. Enjoy!

Pasta Puttanesca with Roasted Garlic

(serves 4 as a main course)

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 small white onion, chopped

4 anchovy filets packed in olive oil, chopped

1 teaspoon red chili flakes
1 tablespoon dried Italian parsley

1 tablespoon capers, drained

3/4 cup kalamata olives, coarsely chopped

1 28 oz can or box organic diced tomatoes

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon coconut sugar (or granulated) if tomatoes are not super sweet (taste them!)

1 lb fettuccine pasta ( I used a spinach and chive fettuccine for this recipe)
Chopped green onion or chives for garnish.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and saute 5 minutes or until translucent and just beginning to caramelize. Add the anchovies, red pepper flakes and parsley and cook for another minute, stirring to break up the anchovy. You want the anchovy to melt into the sauce.

Stir in the capers, olives, tomatoes including the juices, salt, pepper and sugar (if using). Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, add the roasted garlic and simmer for 30 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

While the sauce is simmering, cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and add pasta to sauce skillet. Stir until pasta is coated with sauce. Garnish and serve immediately with plenty of good crusty bread to soak up the sauce.

Roasted Garlic

(from my Napa Farmhouse 1885 blog)

You can make this with as many heads of garlic as you wish. This no-recipe recipe is as follows:

With a sharp knife, cut off the very top of each head of garlic...you should just see the very tip of the garlic cloves after cutting. Remove the first layer or two of papery garlic skin from the garlic head, not too much, you want the garlic cloves to remain attached. Place the garlic root side down in a small ovenproof pan or baking dish, you want the garlic to fit tightly in the pan, so the pan size will depend on the number of garlic heads you are roasting (make more than you need...the roasted garlic will last a few days...and you will use it in everything!) Drizzle cut side of garlic with extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt (I like grey salt) and freshly ground pepper.

Cover pan tightly with foil and roast in a 375-degree oven for 20-30 minutes. Garlic should be very tender. remove the foil, drizzle with additional olive oil and continue roasting for 10 minutes more.

At this point you can squeeze the garlic from the cloves directly onto toasted french or sourdough bread which is lovely...or you can squeeze all the garlic into a small bowl, mash with a wooden spoon and drizzle with additional extra virgin olive oil to create a smooth paste. Taste and add additional salt/pepper if desired. Garlic and/or paste can be stirred into smashed potatoes, added to toasted/grilled bread, added to roasted or steamed vegetables, stirred into sauces, as a topping for pizza, etc. Once you taste it you will be inspired to add it to almost everything!