What could be worse for an Italian woman than being married to a man who has a food intolerance to tomatoes and basil? Unfortunately this is my situation!

Last year Geoff had a series of allergy tests done to try and identify the source of some stomach problems, and the results showed that, amongst other things, he has an intolerance to tomatoes and is allergic to basil! So occasionally, when my craving becomes too much to bear, I cook a delicious pasta al pomodoro … all for myself!

Spaghetti alla Puttanesca (Hooker’s Spaghetti) is one of my all time favourite pasta dishes, it’s very simple and extremely tasty. There are several theories about the origins of this dish and its name. The most plausible of these is that spaghetti alla puttanesca owes its name to the fact that it was originally made by the owner of a famous brothel either in Naples or Rome for the ‘clientèle’.

Preparazione (Preparation):

Peel and cut the tomatoes in half removing the seeds, and leave them upside down for about 15 minutes to drain the water. In the meantime wash the capers and the anchovies under the tap to remove all the salt, and dry them. Roughly chop the anchovies and the capers. Slice the olives, and peel and chop the garlic. Chop the tomatoes into small cubes.

Put the oil in a big frying pan, and when it’s hot add the garlic. When the garlic begins to turn golden add the anchovies and the chilli, and leave to fry for a couple of minutes. When the anchovies begin to dissolve into a paste, add the olives and the oregano and cook for a couple of minutes. Finally add the tomatoes and salt, stir well, bring the sauce to boiling point and leave it to cook for about 10-15 minutes until it’s nice and thick.

Meanwhile cook the spaghetti al dente, and when it is ready drain it and put it into the frying pan in which you prepared your delicious sugo alla puttanesca. On a high flame stir the pasta and sauce together for a couple of minutes and then serve immediately. Sprinkle some freshly ground black pepper on top to finish it off.

Buon Appetito!

N.B. Two Italian regions lay claims on this recipe: Campania, where oregano is added, and Lazio, where they use chopped parsley instead of oregano. However, it’s quite common to find a hybrid of these two recipes, in which both parsley and oregano are used.