Dish · italian
Puttanesca
Spaghetti in a tomato sauce loaded with olives, capers, anchovies, garlic, and red pepper flakes, salty and pungent rather than sweet. The anchovies dissolve into the sauce rather than staying whole.
Where it comes from
The dish is tied to Naples, and its name, referring to prostitutes, has several disputed stories behind it, none confirmed, involving either a quick meal made from pantry odds and ends or a restaurant's marketing choice. No version is settled fact.
What cooks argue about
Anchovy quantity and whether to melt them fully into the oil before adding tomato is the main question, since underdissolved anchovies leave odd chunks. Cooks also argue over whole olives versus chopped.
Versions
Nobody has published a puttanesca here yet. When somebody cooks one from a video and publishes it, their version appears in this list, with a link back to the original.
What goes in it
Each one opens everything else made with it.
crushed tomatoes
capers
anchovy fillet
garlic