This sauce is named for ladies of the night. They would place pots of it in their windows to tempt men into the bordellos. I like it because it’s spicy, fast and easy (no disrespect to the ladies).
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 30 min |
| Prep: | 15 min |
| Cook: | 15 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons (2 turns around the pan) extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 to 6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tin flat anchovy fillets, drained
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 20 oil-cured black olives, cracked away from pit and coarsely chopped
- 3 tablespoons capers
- One 32-ounce can chunky style crushed tomatoes
- One 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
- A few grinds black pepper
- 1/4 cup (a couple of handfuls) flat leaf parsley, chopped
- 1 pound spaghetti, cooked to al dente (with a bite)
- Crusty bread, for mopping
- Grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Romano, for passing, optional
- Serving suggestions: Bitter Greens Salad, recipe follows
- 4 cups (about 2 bundles) arugula leaves, coarsely chopped
- 1 1/2 cups (about 1 bundle) watercress leaves, coarsely chopped
- 1 head Radicchio lettuce, coarsely chopped
- 1 large lemon
- Extra-virgin olive oil, to coat, 2 to 3 tablespoons
- Coarse salt and black pepper
- Oil cured black olives, for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add oil, garlic, anchovies, and crushed pepper. Saute mixture until anchovies melt into oil and completely dissolve and garlic is tender, about 3 minutes: your kitchen never smelled so good! Add olives, capers, tomatoes, black pepper, and parsley. Bring sauce to a bubble, reduce heat, and simmer 8 to 10 minutes.
- Toss sauce with cooked pasta. Pass bread and cheese at the table and serve with Bitter Greens Salad.
- Combine greens in a salad bowl. Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon over the bowl. Drizzle salad liberally with extra virgin olive oil. Toss salad and season salad with salt and pepper. Arrange salad on plates. Garnish plates with black olives, if using.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 701 |
| Total Fat | 20 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Carbohydrates | 114 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 13 g |
| Sugar | 18 g |
| Protein | 22 g |
| Cholesterol | 1 mg |
| Sodium | 1423 mg |
Reviews
Wonderful recipe as is … and even better if modified – try bucatini pasta, and I added oregano and basil from the garden . Beautiful dish all around
So simple to make and absolutely delicious. Nice change from traditional tomato sauce.
Excellent and Easy.
Yum so good and SO easy. I just used 3 cans of diced tomatoes instead of one chunky.
This recipe is perfection. The only thing I do differently is add a pound of ground Italian sausage to make it more filling longer.
Yum! Classic recipe I’ve always wanted to try. Loved the olives in it. Husband prefers regular old spaghetti though. Toddler refused to eat it.
Love this recipe.
I have been making this for years it always comes out great.
Love this simple yummy pasta
Made this last night and sadly it wasn’t worth the trouble of buying all the ingredients. We just didn’t think it was tasty at all. Won’t be making this again. Sorry wish I read an honest review.