Mezze Maniche Alla Puttanesca Recipes

SPAGHETTI ALLA PUTTANESCA

Steps:

• Start boiling water for the spaghetti. Add salt once it starts to boil and bring to the boil again.
• Meanwhile prepare the ingredients. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Peel, de-seed and chop the tomatoes. If anchovies and capers are salted rinse them under cold water. Then cut anchovies into small pieces. If they are large, remove the spine. Remove the seeds from the red chili pepper (if you are using it) and cut into small pieces.
• Heat some olive oil in a frying pan large enough to hold the cooked pasta later. Add the garlic, anchovies, and red pepper flakes (peperoncino).
• Cook over a medium heat until garlic is very lightly golden and the anchovies have melted, about 5 minutes. (Adjust heat as necessary to keep it gently sizzling.)
• Add capers, a bit of parsley and olives and stir to combine.
• Add the peeled and chopped tomatoes, stir and bring to a bare simmer.
• Cook pasta to just under al dente (about 1 minute less than the package recommends).
• Drain pasta reserving 1 cup of the cooking water.
• Add drained pasta to the sauce.
• Add a few tablespoons of the pasta cooking water and increase the heat to bring the pasta and sauce to a vigorous simmer.
• Cook, stirring and shaking the pan and adding more pasta water as necessary to keep sauce a little liquidy until pasta is perfectly al dente.
• Sprinkle with some more parsley.
• Season with salt and pepper as required.
• Serve immediately.

MEZZE MANICHE ALLA PUTTANESCA

Steps:

• Put in a frying pan (aluminum is suggested for these types of cooking but not necessarily) extravirgin olive oil, garlic, anchovies and the hot pepper (if you don't like too spicy use 1/2 teaspoon).
• Brown the previous ingredients until the anchovies melts.
• Meanwhile cut into with a knife the green and the black olives.
• Add the tomoatoes, sliced olives, oregano, black pepper, parsley and salt.
• Cook the sauce on a low flame/heat for 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, use another pot to boil the water.
• Cook the pasta, exactly al dente ;-).
• Drain the pasta and dress it (in the same water pot) with half of the sauce you prepared.
• Plate up and add a bit more sauce on the top with a pinch of fresh parsley.
• Buon Appetito!

PENNE ALLA PUTTANESCA

Steps:

• Cook the pasta and the sauce: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta to the boiling water, stir, and cook until al dente, about 3 minutes less than what the box advises. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce by heating oil in a skillet over low heat. Rinse the anchovies and the capers under cold water to remove the salt, then soak in a small bowl of water for several minutes. Remove the pits from the olives by quickly smashing them with the side of a knife, then fillet the anchovies by removing the backbone (the longer they're soaked, the easier this will be). Add the anchovies, capers, garlic, olives, and parsley to the skillet, and cook until the anchovies are broken up and the garlic is lightly browned. Using a fork or your hands, break up the tomatoes in a mixing bowl and add to the skillet. Simmer sauce for 1-2 minutes, then check for seasoning (sauce will be naturally salty) and adjust with pepper.
• Assemble the dish: Perform the pasta "marriage ceremony" by reserving 1 cup of the pasta water and draining the rest. Return the pasta to the pot. Add the pasta water and puttanesca sauce into the pot. Cook over low heat, gently tossing the pasta with the sauce for 2 minutes to allow it to marry with the sauce. The pasta should still be firm to the bite. Transfer to a platter or bowl, garnish with more chopped parsley, and serve.

BISTECCA ALLA PUTTANESCA

Steps:

• Heat a grill or grill pan to medium-high. Rub the steaks with the garlic and a drizzle of olive oil. Grill the steaks, turning once, for 8 minutes for medium-rare. Season with salt and pepper.
• In a small bowl, mix the butter and anchovy paste. Dollop on top of the steaks.
• In a bowl, combine the tomatoes, olives, caper berries, onion, parsley and the remaining 2 tablespoon olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Top the steaks with the tomato salad.