Puttanesca

I know, it's been nearly a month since my last food post. But since we are now officially into summer with all the fresh produce one can eat and the grilling/barbecue season more posts are promised.

But about that pasta sauce: Last night I made my first puttanesca. I know that I've had the sauce before, but I've never made it, and now I can't figure out why because it is so freakin' easy! Garlic, red pepper and anchovies* provide the pungent background flavor with the brininess of capers and Kalamata olives brightening the earthiness and taming the heat from the pepper flakes. It took me as long to make the sauce as it did to boil the pasta (key: have your ingredients chopped and measured before you start cooking).

*Anchovies, by the way, are really a cooks good friend. They get a bad rap, but they are really essential in a lot of dishes such as the puttanesca and Ceasar salad. I generally buy anchovy paste in a tube which lasts quite a while in the fridge.