Pasta Puttanesca

This is a very simple recipe I made for the holidays 2007. The ingredients are very basic. You can add some shrimps, other seafoods like crab meat, mussles and pork if you want.

NOTE: I didn't include any specific measurements for some ingredients, those will depend on you on how much you want it. A little background on a very famous Italian Herb used for Puttanesca, capers.

Caper buds blossom on a flowering plant called Capperis Spinosa, a wild bush that grows along the coastlines of southern Italy. It thrives in arid, rocky areas, popping up even in the cracks of old walls. During the spring months, the plant sports large, rosy white flowers. In the Kitchen This aromatic plant has been used for thousands of years in Mediterranean cuisine; in Italy, capers top pizzas and grace alla puttanesca tomato-based sauces. The best capers are smaller in size; larger capers are actually less flavorful. Capers preserved in sea salt, especially those from the island of Pantelleria, are more flavorful than those stored in vinegar. Capers should never be cooked with fellow ingredients, but should be added at the last minute, and only briefly heated. Lengthy cooking causes capers to lose their aroma and take on a more pronounced bitter flavor.

The Recipe:

1 teaspoon of olive oil
1 teaspoon anchovy paste
1 large onion finely chopped
5 cloves of garlic minced
1 (8oz.) can of crushed tomatoes
1 (8oz.) can of diced tomatoes
1 cup of fresh tomatoes chopped
black olives and green olives
pepper flakes
1 teaspoon capers
mushrooms (i use lots and lots of these)
Parmigiano- Reggiano cheese (a must)
freshly grind pepper and salt to taste
Spaghetti or any pasta of your choice

How To:

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic until onion is tender and translucent. Stir in crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes and fresh tomatoes. Simmer 5 minutes on medium heat. Add peppers, black olives, green olives and capers. Simmer 15 to 20 minutes on low heat, or until sauce has thickened.