puttanesca

1. theory
2. equipments
3. ingredients
4. recipe

theory

It is of utmost importance when working with pasta that "form follow function" in the selection of shapes. Everyone loves spaghetti, sure, but spaghetti may not always be the best Atlas to a particular earthy gravy. This is the most common mistake made by premature cooks when preparing a pasta dish. They have not allowed themselves sufficient time to ponder the essential mystery of the relationship between gravy, and pasta shape.

For a puttanesca of this stripe, I suggest a smaller, less linear, more robust shape with lots of surface area, such as a cavatappi, rotelle, or even orecchiette. Either of these will do a phenomenal job of capturing the essence of the gravy cooked in the style of a prostitute.

equipments

• stove
• stock pot
• wooden spoon
• tongs
• frying pan
• chopping block
• kitchen knife
• can opener

ingredients

• pasta
• salt
• garlic*
• hot pepper flakes
• good olive oil
• capers
• kalamata olives
• tomato paste
• peeled tomatoes of the "San Marzano" type, canned
• parsley

recipe

1. fill the stock pot with cold water and set on the stove over high heat
   • when water boils vociferously, toss in a handful of salt, then dump in the pasta; stir periodically with the spoon
2. peel, trim, and chop the garlic
3. set the frying pan on the stove over medium heat, add a good amount of oil and, when you can smell it, add the hot pepper flakes and garlic and stir frequently
4. finely mince the capers, and slice the olives; add to the frying pan and stir frequently
5. when things in the frying pan begin to brown becomingly, add the tomato paste, and stir thoroughly to incorporate
6. one by one, extricate the peeled tomatoes from their can and crush by hand over the tomato paste mixture in the frying pan; stir to incorporate, then scrape in what remains of the tomatoes' sauce from the can, and stir further
7. let the tomato sauce simmer and thicken well, perhaps leaving a lid askance over the pan to prevent the most egregious spatterings
8. when pasta is more or less al dente, scoop up the shapes and toss them into the sauce, being sure to allow for sufficient starchy water accompaniment; turn off the stove and toss the shapes in the pan to incorporate among them the essence of the gravy cooked in the style of a prostitute
9. chop, shred, and finely mince the parsley, add to the pasta and sauce in the pan, and give the whole thing a few more tosses to incorporate

* generally you may as well process and use the entire head, whenever a recipe calls for "garlic"