let´s do it like whores...

cooking like whores..that is! pasta to be exact...

and where do the whores cook the best pasta? yes..italy of course..where else? first i wanted to write a little erotic intro about a prostitute in sicily..about the narrow and pictureske street she lives in..the bordello with its old and crooked stairways...the room with the narrow bed and the small window which leads out the backyard..red flowers on her window bench and a thin dog who lives in a shet behind the house...

BUT..i dont have time for that intro today so i just go straight to one of my fav pasta dishes pasta alla puttaneska...my grandma teached me how to cook this..she went with her sisters to italy each summer when they where still young girls..back then when it was very chic to go to italy for summer..to rome, capri and the costiera amalfitana....since my grandma and her sisters where total ladies they were shocked when the yfound out the meaning of " alla puttanesca" but still they were already under the spell of this spicey and simple dish..and so they would sit in the restaurants and just write it down intead of saying it..not looking at the waiter..blushing and bursting into laughter as soon as the waiter would leave their table...

if you ask one how this dish got its name u will get many answers...some will tell you its because the italian whores invented it because its quickly done so they were able to cook it between two clients....others will tell you its because the prostitutes werent allowed to go shopping before night and when all " good women" already had been shopping their groceries...so they ha dto buy what was left..but thats not true...to go back to the real deal about the pasta alla puttanesca we have to go back in time to sicily..actually its a typical dish of the so called cucina povera..the "poor kitchen or kitchen of the poor?"...back then..in 1950 the bordellos and whorehouses used to be property of the state/country...they were called " case chiuse" which means "locked/closed house" because the doors had to be closed all the time to prevent the neighbours from beeing hurt or terrified by the sinfull life of the whores..the normal italian housewife goes to teh market everyday to buy all the things she needs to feed her bambinies fresh and nice..but the "state employes" couldnt do that..their time was so limited that they were allowed only once a week to leave the house and go shopping..so they had to be inventive and see what to cook with goods and foods which lost longer..and so this dish was created based on things which are in stock in every italian kitchen...

so..lets check our ability to behave like a whore..in the kitchen!!

we need:

pasta..usually they use spagetthie for this but i prefer i penne rigatte for this sinc ethe sauce gets attached better to them
then you need capers..a jar full ..the salty ones..not the thingies in vinegar..those have actually nothing to do with the real stuff
2 red onions, chopped
anchovis as much as you like
cherrytomatos
oregano, dried or fresh
olives as much as you want
sugar, a tea spoonfull
oliveoil
2 garlic cloves sliced into small..slices!
a red chilli pepper , two if you like it like i do

now you heat up the oil in a non-sticking pan..dont make it too hot..i know this dish known for beeing done quick..but i cook it like a sugo and let it cook very slow..
chopp the onions, garlic and the chilli and put them into the warm oil..heat up a bit..
boil for about 6 minutes until the onions get that glassy consistens..now add the chopped anchovis..stirr it all with a wooden cook spoon...
now cut the toamtos in halfs and add them into the pan..then follow oregano, olives and capers...stirr it well...

boil meanwhile the pasta in hot saltwater

add some more salt and black pepper into the pan..

thats all u usually do for this..but since i alwas like to add my own twist i add some redwine vinegar and sugar into the pan..cook some more...make it cook low until the sugo starts to be a bit thicker and get a creamy and soft constitens...

now put the pasta into a bowl..but the sauce all over it..stirr it with two spoons and pour some parmigano over it..add some basil ...perfect...:-)

guten appetit!