a lovely pasta puttanesca for a meatless monday

Doesn't it look inviting? How could it not?
It's a big warm bowl of pasta, sure to make your day better... provided you like olives, capers, and all sorts of salty delicious things... oh yeah, and a little heat too.

Or if you're like me, a lotta heat. In my initial attempt at this dish, i may have added about 2x too many peppers and nearly scorched the tongues off everyone who took a bite... but not to worry, everyone somehow made it through and ate the pasta, while constantly blotting our tongues with bread and drenching them with water and wine, and this time around i've dialed the pepper flakes down to add heat, but not start a fire. 

Pasta puttanesca is one of those great, easy pasta dishes you can throw together in a moment's notice. It's really simple and super tasty, two characteristics I've been looking for in food lately (or i guess, more so than usual, as who would ever complain about food being tasty and simple?), and with garlic, olives, capers, tomatoes, and basil there are a lot of flavors happening, but in a good way, and in a i-have-those-things-in-my-pantry sort of way.

this is one dish that i absolutely love to use anchovies in. of course, anchovies are a traditional ingredient, i'm not making some sort of revelation here, i'm simply trying to remind myself how much i love using anchovies, so that i might actually use them more often. they add so much depth to a dish and without adding "fishiness" (something my mother is always worried about), and i notice this every time i use them, and yet i hardly pull them out of the pantry. So note to myself - use more anchovies! That said, you could make this dish completely veg. if you so desired, just by leaving the anchovies out... so do what you will, because whichever you choose, i'm quite sure you will be happy with the results.

pasta puttanesca

1/2 lb. spaghetti

2 Tbsp olive oil

3 anchovy filets

3 large cloves of garlic, minced

1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes, drained

1/2 c kalamata olives

2 tsp capers, rained

1/4 tsp dried red pepper flakes

salt and pepper, to taste

fresh basil leaves, chiffonade, for garnish

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook spaghetti until al dente, 8-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a sauce pan over medium-low heat. Add garlic and anchovies and let cook 2-3 minutes, until garlic is golden and anchovies begin to break down. Add drained tomatoes to pan, crush with a wooden spoon and turn the heat to medium. Let cook about 15 minutes. Add in olives, capers, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Stir and keep warm until ready to serve.

Toss sauce with pasta and sprinkle with basil leaves for garnish.