Puttanesca Sauce (Sugo alla Puttanesca)
Puttanesca sauce is one of my favorite pasta sauces of all time, mainly because it’s made with a bunch of ingredients that I love to cook with; olives, anchovies, capers, and garlic. It’s a classic Italian sauce with origins in Naples that has more than a few hot takes on its origin. In Italian, puttana means whore, so basically, the sauce is “whore style,” aka prostitute sauce.
I’ve heard a few different stories as to how the sauce got its name. Still, when I was a kid, the one I first encountered was that prostitutes didn’t have a lot of money, so they used whatever inexpensive ingredients they had available or could buy for a low price to make this sauce. In the years since I've encountered explanations that range from prostitutes cooking the sauce to lure in clients to the sauce itself being an aphrodisiac. I’ve also read that prostitutes would make the sauce to eat quickly between servicing clients because of how fast and easy it is to prepare.
Finally, there’s a more family-friendly story explaining the origins of this classic sauce about the co-owner and chef, Sandro Petti, of a popular Ischian restaurant called Rancio Fellone. When a group of friends or customers came into the restaurant just before closing, they asked if he could make them something to eat. He looked around the kitchen only to find that there was not much there. When he told them there wasn’t anything of substance to cook them a meal with, they replied, “Facci una puttanata qualsiasi,” which roughly translates to “make any kind of garbage.” So basically, Petti threw whatever crap he had laying around in his kitchen together, and the sauce was born, according to this version of its origin story.
I like to use linguine with this sauce, but spaghetti and vermicelli are just as good
Puttanesca sauce is vibrant and aromatic. It tastes sweet, salty, and savory. Depending on how much pepper you add to the dish, I would say it tastes spicy, too. Puttanesca sauce is one of the easiest recipes in Italian cooking to master. The preparation time is relatively short because the ingredients don’t need to cook for that long to develop the strong, signature flavor of the sauce. The individual components in the recipe do the heavy lifting because each item tastes as bold as the next, which is why the sauce is known to be pungent.
Creating the perfect puttanesca sauce depends on your personal preference, but also what season you’re making it in. I have two versions of the same recipe that I cook, one for the summer and one for the winter. Both share most of the same base ingredients, but the two iterations differ in one fundamental way.
For the winter version, you start with crushed red pepper, anchovies, sliced garlic, and oil
Then you pour in your tomatoes…
…followed by the capers and olives, plus a few basil leaves
Cover the pot and let the sauce simmer
For the summer version, you start with crushed red pepper, anchovies, whole garlic cloves, a chopped shallot, and oil
Then you dump in your cherry tomatoes…
…followed by the capers and olives, plus a few basil leaves
Cover the pot and let the sauce simmer
When the weather is warmer, and I can grab some cherry tomatoes from my Nonna’s garden, I make the “summer” sauce, whereas when it’s colder out, and nothing is growing, I reach for a can of tomatoes and make the “winter” version. The latter has a more bright, acidic tomato flavor and looks like a traditional, Southern Italian red sauce. The former is more colorful and tastes sweeter as there are shallots and cherry tomatoes in it. While the summer version is lighter and the winter version is heavier, realistically, you can make both styles of sauce whenever you want. Cherry tomatoes are also available year-round in most supermarkets, so go with whatever recipe you like, or do as I do and make dueling versions for your friends and family to enjoy.
If you want to have wine with dinner, I think Primativo, Nero d’Avola, Pinot Noir, or Barbera will pair well against the acidity of the puttanesca sauce. Some people also get weirdly judgemental when you use grated cheese on fish sauces, but I pretty much put cheese onto everything I eat, so do you. Additionally, if you want to skip the pasta and enjoy the puttanesca sauce over a protein, I think chicken or a flaky white fish are solid options.
My Nonno’s favorite…
…and my Nonna’s favorite
Winter Sauce Ingredients
1lb of linguine or spaghetti
28oz can of whole, peeled tomatoes or crushed
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 cup of pitted olives (Gaeta, kalamata, or black cured)
4 cloves of garlic, sliced
8-12 anchovies
2 tablespoons of capers
1-1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
Basil for garnish
(optional): 1/2 shallot
(optional): Grated Pecorino-Romano or Parmigiana-Reggiano
Summer Sauce Ingredients
1lb of linguine or spaghetti
1 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 cup of pitted olives (Gaeta, kalamata, or black cured)
6 cloves of garlic, whole
1 shallot, roughly chopped
8-12 anchovies
2 tablespoons of capers
1-1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
A handful of arugula
Basil for garnish
(optional): Grated Pecorino-Romano or Parmigiana-Reggiano
(optional): 2 tablespoons or more of pasta water depending on the desired consistency
Winter Sauce Cooking Instructions
Pour oil in a pot on medium-high heat. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper and adjust the heat to low
Toss in the anchovies and sliced garlic, cooking for around 3-4 minutes until anchovies disappear and garlic becomes aromatic
Dump in the crushed tomatoes and some fresh basil leaves and stir. Cook for 15 minutes on medium heat
Add in the olives and capers. Cover the pot and let the sauce simmer on medium-low for around 20 minutes
Pour the sauce over pasta and serve
Summer Sauce Cooking Instructions
Pour oil in a skillet on medium-high heat. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper and adjust the heat to low
Toss in the anchovies, chopped shallot, and whole garlic, cooking for around 3-4 minutes until anchovies disappear and the garlic becomes aromatic
Dump in the cherry tomatoes and some fresh basil leaves and stir. Cook for 15 minutes on medium heat
Add in the olives and capers. Cover the pot and let the sauce simmer on medium-low for around 10 minutes
Pour the sauce over pasta and serve
