Pasta PUTTANESCA

It´s time for pasta……….

http://www.wineberserkers.com/content/?p=1476


Save water, drink wine
Martin

Hi Martin,

One of my long-time favorites. As you wrote, the quality of the black olives is important. I like the slightly wrinkled, not in water-packed ones. The widely available in the US, pitted, packed in water in the can are not my choice.

YES Henry, the quality of the ingredients is such important. Also the capers should be stored salted and NOT in vinegar which I mostly see in Germany.

I also strongly recommend tomato polpa by MUTTI

I love this pasta even if I’m using pickled capers and brined Kalamata olives. Since it only requires pantry items, it is pretty easy to pull together at the last minute.

I’ve never tried salt-packed capers. Time to check them out.

Martin’s emphasis on “good quality” olive oil is key. It is not just a cooking medium but a major ingredient.

Henry, I think you’re referring to oil-cured olives. They are a bit shriveled, shiny, and have a slightly fruity flavor. They are pretty easy to pit too. I love those things and wish they were more widely available. Totally different flavor from brined olives.

Now I’m craving a glass of Cerasuolo di Vittoria.

Hi Patrick,

Yes, indeed.

Years ago I had raved about this pasta to a friend of mine. She said, well then, let’s do it at my house. I asked if she really had all of the ingedients, and was told of course.


Long story short,
the capers were those gigantic pickled things, the olives were pre-pitted from the watery can, and…and…

the parsley was pre-chopped from the freezer.

Sounds like a pretty grim puttanesca.

I’ve never understood what canned olives are for. I guess if you put them on pizza they dry out in the baking process and their flavor is intensified.

Lil kids like to put them on their fingers

Martin – I finally got around to making your recipe for puttanesca. It was really good, my family loved it and had second helpings. The flavor was rich and strong – much more flavorful than when I have had restaurant versions.

I did find salt packed capers, and salt packed anchovies. I bought the anchovies (and really good black olives) from a Greek food store near my home. I hadn’t looked at the anchovies until I was ready to start cooking and was a little surprised, they were like 5 inches long. I had to soak them, delicately open them, and take out a robust backbone structure to produce the sort of filets one normally sees. The soaked and cleaned filets dissolved perfectly into the sauce but I don’t think these substantial bones would have dissolved.

Anyway now that I’ve made it I am sure I will be making it again, I think my family would be disappointed if I didn’t.

Frank,

that´s the most import thing that your loved ones enjoyed the dish.

By re-reading my recipe I got hungry myself. It is indeed delicious and I will make it soon again. But that is always the same story with these CLASSIC italian pasta dishes, otherwise they wouldn´t be classic.

Cheers,
Martin

Frank,

I use Agostino Recca brand salted anchovies from Sicily. They are smaller than the ones you found and easy to use. I hold them under a little running water and am able to remove the filets from the skeleton pretty easily and use immediately.

They come in 1 kg cans. When I open one, I repack the contents into a round Pyrex storage container and put more salt on top before putting the lid on and putting them in the refrigerator. They last a long time. No idea how long the current batch has been in there but it has easily been a year.

Interesting Patrick – I went through a couple of cans of those YEARS ago and loved them. I think I bought them in an Italian food store in the Chelsea Market. And I would certainly have used them except now I don’t know where to buy them. Of course I can get the big boney fish 2 blocks from my house and dealing with them is an adventure. And they taste pretty much just as good. I haven’t seen that can for quite a while!! Probably it was in the 1990’s.

Actually I checked and both the really good Agostino Recca tinned anchovies, and salt cured capers, are available from Amazon.com nowadays! Not cheap but available.

Weird situation, Frank.

Those anchovies are readily available around here… but my source for all food stuffs Greek closed down a year ago.

I’d go for your circumstances given the choice.