Pasta Puttanesca

Legend has it that Pasta Puttanesca, or “whore’s pasta” was so named because it uses store-cupboard rather than market-fresh ingredients that time-poor “working girls” would be unable to buy.  Whatever your profession, we could all do with a standby recipe that can be whipped up in no time from pantry ingredients!

Don’t worry if you don’t like the idea of anchovies – they melt down in the sauce and just provide a background salty tastiness.  You can remove them if you want to make this a vegetarian dish, though you will lose a little depth of flavour.

1. Prepare the anchovies, garlic and olives.
   
2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the anchovies.  Cook these over a moderate heat for 30 seconds or so and then add the sliced garlic and chilli and cook for a further 30 seconds to a minute before adding the capers and olives.  Cook these for a minute or two.
   
3. Next, add the tinned tomatoes and let everything simmer gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
   
4. While the pasta sauce is cooking, bring a large pot of salted water up to the boil.  When boiling, add the spaghetti and give it a good stir.  Cook the spaghetti for 8-10 minutes, until it is “al-dente” (just cooked through with no chalky centre). When cooked, making sure to reserve a cup of the cooking water, drain the pasta.
5. Tip the pasta into the frying pan and stir it into the sauce.  You can use a little of the reserved pasta water to make the sauce slightly more liquid if you want.  Scatter over the chopped parsley, add a grind of pepper and serve!