Pasta alla Puttanesca

Ingredients
for 4 servings

2 whole heads of garlic
100 ml olive oil
dry red chilli to taste
1 kg tomatoes
salt to taste
2 bunches of parsley
a handful of black olives
1 tbsp capers
500 gram pasta (rigatoni or penne)

topping
a handful of black olives
2-3 tbsp finely chopped parsley
2-3 tbsp olive oil

Preparation

Chop the garlic and sauté it in olive oil with the chopped red chilli.

Add the puréed tomatoes, salt, finely chopped parsley, chopped black olives and the capers.

Cook the sauce for 30-40 minutes, and it is ready.

The best pasta for this sauce is rigatoni, available nearly everywhere. Penne is also excellent.

This sauce, according to me, does not gain by a cheese topping.

After the usual mantecatura (stirring the pasta in the sauce for 30 seconds) you can top your creation with another handful of chopped black olives that you spread as a garnish with some fresh parsley if you like some green on top. Add a little olive oil if you like it more oily!

I actually perform all these operations, because I love to add a little crudités on top of my pasta. A little green (parsley, basil, mint, rucola, fresh oregano or any other green herb), some olives (sometimes black, sometimes green, according to the preparation) and always a few spoons of the best olive oil.

And this really is a no-cheese dish. Light, and strong at the same time.

From the book ‘Food is Home’ by Sarjano