Dinner With An Old Friend

Do you have one of those friends who you can pick up with no matter how long it’s been since you visited with one another? The one that feels like a well-loved cozy sweatshirt?

Meet an old and very favorite friend…

OK, so maybe my friend is not the most attractive, but Pasta Puttanesca is one of the all-time greatest comfort foods – at least as far as I’m concerned.

We made this for dinner last weekend and it was a definite winner. Hub has had it before – this exact recipe, in fact. But this was Kidzilla’s first time. Hearing her toss the word “puttanesca” around the kitchen with a perfect Italian accent and pronunciation was well worth the effort.

But that’s the thing… This pasta dish requires almost zero effort on the part of the chef. It’s like that old friendship that just feels comfortable and easy. The one where you don’t have to do anything but be yourself and the other person loves you for it. Puttanesca is humble, easy, and – maybe the best part – incredibly cheap to make. With very few ingredients – most of which are likely in your pantry already – you have something warm and wonderful staring you in the face.

I discovered this recipe about 20 years ago – hard to believe. Anybody remember the “Dinner and A Movie” show on TBS back in the 90s? I was a pretty regular viewer…during that time I was living on my own, working full time and going to school full time at night. I had a terrific little studio apartment that I absolutely loved. While I did not do a whole lot of cooking for myself, I already enjoyed seeing other people cook and trying out recipes for company.

This particular version of puttanesca was attached to the movie Pretty Woman and was called Julia’s Angel Hair Puttanesca. It has enjoyed repeat performances as my go-to single-girl-on-a-budget entertaining meal. It’s so simple and inexpensive, but looks really impressive on the plate. It’s pretty low-fuss, too, so if you mess up the order of things it really doesn’t affect the outcome.

For some reason, I filed it away a couple of years ago and haven’t made it in a long time. Something triggered my memory one day and I really felt like making it. Fab Hub has enjoyed it whenever I’ve made it, but Kidzilla would be taking her first taste. I figured it was safe – she already loves everything that goes into it, except maybe the anchovies, but that is really a non-issue since they just disappear into the sauce. it was just as good as I remembered it and Kidzilla absolutely loved it – asked to have it for breakfast the next morning (we did not agree to that) and happily ate it a second time on leftover night later in the week.

I wish I had more photos than the one above to share with you, but as I was cooking, I was really just enjoying the process and showing Kidzilla everything that went into it. I only managed to get one shot before we dug in, but here it is again…so beautiful and so delicious!

Rustic, huh?

The recipe below is exactly the version I pulled from the TBS website all those years ago. Believe it or not, I made absolutely no variations – it’s perfect just the way it is. I know – that’s practically unprecedented.  Well, OK, one small change: I realized only after the sauce was simmering that we were out of angel hair pasta. Hub offered to run to the store, but the mini farfalle you see in the photo worked just as fine – and they are Kidzilla’s favorite, so that was good for bonus points. Truly, though, I love it on angel hair the best.

Julia’s Angel Hair Puttanesca

Here’s what you need:

• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, cut in small dice
• 1 carrot, cut in small dice (I often just use petite baby carrots and chop them up – whatever you have will work)
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 anchovy fillets, rinsed & mashed
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 3 pounds ripe tomatoes, peeled  chopped (OR one 28-ounce can chopped plum tomatoes)
• 1 cup flavorful black olives, pitted & halved (or just a rough chop will do)
• 3 tablespoons large capers (or small, whatever you have on hand – we always keep the nonpareil ones around)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1 pound angel hair pasta

Here’s what to do:

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and carrot and cook very slowly until the onion becomes soft and translucent, about 10 minutes.

Add the garlic, anchovies, and crushed red pepper; continue cooking until the garlic just turns or begins to turn a very light golden (don’t let it brown). (If you are nervous about the anchovies, don’t be – the sauce would be very different without them and you really can’t identify them because they are mashed up and then cooked down in the sauce. They add that salty something special. Hey, my kid tasted them straight from the jar and didn’t hate -so give it a shot!)

Add red wine and raise the heat to medium-high. Simmer until wine has almost reduced completely. Stir in the tomatoes, olives and capers. Reduce heat to medium and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes, stirring often. (While the sauce simmers, bring 5-6 quarts of cold water to a boil in a large pot.)

When sauce has thickened to the desired consistency, stir in the parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add more crushed red pepper if desired. (We did not – Kidzilla will tolerate hot stuff, but not too much)

When the water comes to a boil, add two tablespoons of salt and return to a boil. Add the pasta all at once and stir immediately to prevent sticking. Cover pot until water returns to a boil again, then uncover and stir until pasta is al dente, stirring often. (This step amuses me – but 20 years ago, I actually did kind of need the step-by-step. If you aren’t using angel hair, this is a little less important.)

Drain the pasta into a colander over a large pasta bowl. Dump out the water and wipe the bowl with a towel before transferring the pasta to the warmed bowl. (Or skip this completely if you don’t care about impressing everyone with a warmed pasta bowl.) Toss and serve in shallow bowls.

Serves 4-6

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Besides being easy, fun, and delicious, Fab Hub and I got to hone our skills in tactful explanation when Kidzilla asked what the word puttanesca means. Now that’s dinner entertainment!

Enjoy! If you give it a try, tell me how much you love it. I promise that you will. 🙂