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Pasta Puttanesca Sauce

Phil Donaldson writes: “This Italian sauce is probably the best-tasting spaghetti sauce we have ever tasted. However, it is not very well-known. The name means ‘prostitute’s sauce,’ and the story goes that the ladies would prepare the sauce and put it on their windowsills, and the smell was so fabulous that it attracted clients for them.”

Recipe information

  • Yield

    serves 4-6

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed
Two 14 1/2-ounce cans Italian plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped, juice reserved
1/2 cup sliced black olives
1/4 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup drained capers
8 anchovy fillets, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley or basil
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Sauté the garlic until translucent. Add the tomatoes and their reserved juice, then stir in the olives, wine, capers, anchovies, parsley, dried herbs, and pepper flakes.

    Step 2

    Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce to a slow simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes. Serve over pasta

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