Italian Pasta Classics - Fusilli Puttanesca

Happy New Year! It will shock no one that we resolve to cook and, more importantly, eat even more great food in 2015. I hope you'll come along for the ride. To this end, it is time again for Italian Pasta Classics, and this week, we are exploring one of most storied sauces Southern Italy has ever given us - Puttanesca. It also happens to be one of my top five favorite pasta preparations of all time - capers, olives, anchovies - I ask you, what's not to love!?  Now to the name, oh, the name. Yeesh. Puttanesca means, how to put this, in the style of the... not-so-nice-word for practicers of the proverbial "oldest profession." The more you know, as they say. 

Puttanesca Sauce, Photo: NK 

There are various accounts of origins of this deliciously easy dish. Probably the most ubiquitous is the anecdote that Pasta Puttanesca was something quickly thrown together from common pantry items, thus making it the ideal sustenance for these working women in between appointments. For my own part, I was surprised to learn that the dish, or at least the name, is relatively young. Several sources trace it only as far back as the middle of the 20th century (figures, right?).  As food lore goes, the popularly accepted story of Puttanesca is pretty well known, however I recently read a very interesting article that posited that despite the name, the dish may not have had much to do with sex workers at all. The author aptly notes that "Sex workers aren't the only people who appreciate quick, aromatic meals." Her theory on the origin has been batted around before, though less often. Check out the full article here. As you will note, there's not to an exact recipe for this dish conceived in imprecision, but I invite your to try our favorite iteration of it today. What you do after you eat it is most definitely your own business. Enjoy! 

Fusilli Puttanesca
Serves 4 as an entree 

Castelvetrano & Gaeta Olives, Photo: NK

Lightly Adapted from Lidia Bastianich
Ingredients:
1 35 Ounce Can whole San Marzano Tomatoes 
1 Pound Fusilli
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil plus more for drizzling
3 Large Garlic Cloves, smashed
1 Cup Gaeta or similar Olives
3/4 Cup Castelvetrano Olives, or other meaty, firm and bright green variety such as Cerignola
5-6 high quality Anchovy Fillets
1/2 Cup Italian Parsley, chopped
1/4 Cup Capers, rinsed
1 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
Toasted breadcrumbs (if you need a topping, but not usually necessary)

Method: 
1. Start a large pot of salted water boiling for the pasta. Add the Fusilli as soon as it comes to a boil and cook for 9 minutes for al dente. 

A sauce that is both gorgeous & flavorful, Photo: NK

2. Pit the Olives by smashing them with a heavy, flat object such as the bottom on the pan and removing the pit. Coarsely chop the Olives and set aside.

3. In a very large skillet, heat the oil over a medium flame. Add the Garlic Cloves and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes until they begin to brown. Place the Anchovies in the pan and break the up a bit using a wooden spoon. Add the Olives and cook 2 more minutes until they sizzle. Add the Tomatoes along with their juices and mash them using a potato masher until the large chunks are broken up. Add the Crushed Red Pepper.

4. Allow sauce to boil and then lower the heat to where it stays at an energetic simmer. Cook for 5 minutes and add the Capers. 

5. By this time your pasta should be done. Drain it through a colander and add the pasta to the skillet containing the sauce. Turn up the flame to medium and add the Parsley. Stir. Remove skillet from the flame and check for seasoning (a very little bit of salt may be needed) and serve! 
**Special thanks to Cousin Julie for the delicious homegrown and hand canned tomatoes!! 

Culinary Icons & Essential Recipes - Marcella Hazan's Tomato Sauce

Last week, in gardens all over, something was happening; 

The beautiful crop from my BFF's Buck's County Farm (Black Krim,
Yellow Tiger, Beefsteak)
Check out #buckscountybounty on Instagram for more!
Photo: Eric S. 

copious bushels of tomato were collectively ripening to perfection. It seemed like everywhere I looked, there'd be another social media post from a friend or family member documenting the much anticipated day when their summer tomato yield would be prepared and canned in order to ensure delicious sauce the whole winter long. 

I've always wanted to take part in this Italian tradition, but being an apartment dweller, heavy gardening has not been in the cards. If any of said friends or family are reading this, I am more than happy to take a few jars off your hands. (wink!). 

It pays to be a friend of the farmer!
Photo: Eric S.
#buckscountybounty on Instagram

Today, we're indulging our seemingly endless pasta craving by trying out a celebrated recipe for the easiest Tomato Sauce you'll ever make. The quality of the result swings so very much on using stellar red tomatoes (choose whatever size or variety is ripest), that it seemed to be the perfect time to try it and share. Culinary giant Marcella Hazan was a great talent who was instrumental in bringing Italian food to America, dispelling quite a few myths along the way. What follows below is one of her most celebrated recipes, one that stands with other iconic dishes and has stood the test of time. Hazan's Tomato Sauce with Butter is surrounded by the same mystique as Julia Child's Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic, or the Silver Palate Cookbook's enduring favorite - Chicken Marbella. 

Take an hour out of your day to make it, and you will not believe how simple this recipe is and how delicious the results are. It's hard to understand, really. Not putting Garlic in my Tomato Sauce, as I usually do, felt somewhat unnatural to me. This sauce is at its best made with fresh, beautifully ripe Tomatoes. If you are not able to secure fresh tomatoes, you can definitely use canned San Marzano as an alternative. 

The result: Simplicity can be just delicious. Now, you're technically supposed to remove the onion before serving the sauce, but as you can see, I couldn't resist leaving a few little pieces in the mix. 

Marcella Hazan's Iconic Tomato Sauce Recipe, Photo: NK

The how-to is below, just as it appeared in The New York Times Dining and Wine section. When you have a spare moment, do also read this wonderful article on the late Hazan's immeasurable contributions to the culinary world, particularly her part in bringing true yet simple Italian cuisine to the American home cook. 

Total Time: roughly 1 hour
Serves 6, or enough for 1.5 pounds of pasta

Ingredients:
2 Pounds of fresh ripe Tomatoes (we opted for Plum Tomatoes) blanched as described below OR 2 Cups Canned Imported Tomatoes, chopped, with their juices
5 Tablespoons Salted Butter
1 medium Onion, peeled and halved (we used a Vidalia but any white or yellow onion will do)
A few shakes of Salt

Method:
1. If using fresh Tomatoes, blanch as follows: Score an X using a knife into the top or bottom of each Tomato. Drop the Tomatoes in boiling water about a minute or so. Drain right away and as soon as they are cool enough to handle, skin them, remove the inside core and roughly chop. 

2. Put either the fresh or prepared Tomatoes in a medium saucepan. Add the Butter, Onion and Salt. Cook uncovered at a very slow simmer for about 45 minutes or until it has thickened to the point you'd like it to and the butter floats free of the Tomato. Stir from time to time throughout the cooking, mashing up the larger Tomato pieces using the back of a wooden spoon.  When finished cooking, taste and adjust the Salt. 

3. Discard the Onion before tossing the Sauce with Pasta. Enjoy!!!