May 2015

Puttanesca meaning

The Puttanesca is a tasty dish typical of the Italian cousine, in particular by Rome and Naples. It has been created in Naples and in Rome has been modified adding the anchovies.
The name “Puttanesca” recall clearly the word “puttana“, prostitute, streetwalker. But why using this expression for a dish? Many interpretations have been given. The most interesting, also by a linguistic point of view, link the word “puttanesca” to “puttanata” that comes again from “puttana”, but has a figurative meaning: “puttanata” indeed is a kind of foolishness, a very not relevant thing or fact.
“Te la prendi per una puttanata“, you get angry for something very stupid, for example.
Or: “Non dargli retta, dice solo puttanate“, don’t believe to him, he says only stupid things.
Let’s now see the correlation with our pasta. It seems, that few decades ago some guests asked to the chef to prepare “una puttanata qualsiasi”, so whatever kind of dish but simple and really fast to prepare. The chef, combining the ingredients available in his kitchen (anchovies, capers, tomatoes, olives etc.), invented what, after, would have become the “Puttanesca”.

Here below the Puttanesca Recipe.

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Puttanesca Recipe

Ingredients for 4 people

– Type of pasta: spaghetti or rigatoni
– 4 etti 500 gr. of cherry tomatoes or date
– 2 cloves of garlic
– chili
– plentiful parsley
– 80 grams of olives from Gaeta (an Italian town in the province of Latina)
– 170 g. of anchovies in oil
– salt capers, two spoons
– pepper
– extra virgin olive oil

– pecorino cheese to taste.

 

Take the capers, put them in a glass of water for about twenty minutes so that they lose salt. Change the water at least once.
Rinse the fresh tomatoes and cut them into pieces.
Cut the olives into pieces, removing the stone.
Take the parsley and cut it finely.
Take the pan and fry over a low heat the oil, garlic and chilli.
Add the anchovies after passing them under water so that they lose salt and oil.
Now add the tomatoes, olives and parsley (not everything, it will be served a little at the end).
Let it cook for 3-4 minutes. The sauce is ready.

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Procedure for preparing the Pasta

Drain the pasta al dente and put it in a pan for a minute so that the sauce and pasta can mix together.
Add parsley and pepper to taste.

Buon Appetito.

Spaghetti or rigatoni?
I prefer rigatoni because the sauce comes well within them.

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You can try an Italian Cooking Session trying the Puttanesca recipe in Turin at our place.

We arrange those session at our place an you can see here our prises together with our Homestay Italian Courses.

Puttanesca Meaning, Italian Cooking Session

 

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