Puttanesca Sauce is loosely translated to “street walker’s sauce.” There are a lot of stories about how this name came about. The most popular is that prostitutes used to make Pasta alla Puttanesca and put it out on the windowsill so that the aroma would attract prospective clients. Kind of a silly story, but people seem to like it.

Now, lets talk about anchovies. I know there are probably a lot of people out there who think they don’t like anchovies, and may be tempted to make this excluding them. You certainly can do that if you want, but I am going to ask you nicely not to. Please try it at least once with the anchovies. Chopped up they practically dissolve into the oil when sautéing them, so you don’t have to worry about biting directly into or tasting anchovy. What you will taste, however, is a depth of flavor that will be missing if they are left out. Trust me.

Spaghetti alla Puttanesca Recipe

Prep time: 10 min | Cook time: 25 min | Total time: 35 min

Serves 4-6

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
6 anchovy fillets, chopped
pinch of crushed red pepper
1 35 oz can imported italian plum tomatoes, crushed with their juices
1 tablespoon capers
12 gaetta olives, pitted
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 pound spaghetti

1. Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add garlic, anchovy, and red pepper cook until garlic is lightly browned.
2. Crush tomatoes and add with juices. Fill the empty tomato can 1/4 of the way with water and pour into the pan. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, then reduce to a simmer.
3. Add capers, olives, and oregano. Cook at a simmer for 20 minutes, until sauce thickens.
4. While the sauce is cooking bring a pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add the Linguini and cook uncovered over high heat until al dente.
5. Drain pasta, toss with sauce and serve.

Pasta with Grape Tomatoes Recipe

Prep time: 5 min | Cook time: 15 min | Total time: 20 min

Serves 4

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 large garlic cloves sliced thin
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt to taste
1 pound spaghettini pasta
2 large basil leaves, torn into pieces by hand
freshly grated Parmagiano-Reggiano cheese for serving

1. Add olive oil and garlic to a large sautè pan over medium heat. Cook until garlic is lightly browned, then add the sliced tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and salt.
2. Saute the tomatoes until they are softened and have started to release their juices, about 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, bring a pot of liberally salted water to a boil, add pasta and cook until al dente.
4. Strain pasta and transfer to the sautè pan with the sauce. Add the basil, and toss until completely coated.
5. Dish out into individual serving bowls and serve with grated Parmagiano-Reggiano.

The magic of sausage! It can take an ordinary lasagna and turn it into something special. Yet, even before the sausage, this is no ordinary lasagna. Fresh homemade pasta for the noodles, the Ricotta-Béchamel sauce from Chef Silvia’s Hand Rolled Lasagna and fresh mozzarrella already take this to another level. Add the sausage and it’s breathing down the neck of the venerable Lasagna Verde Bolognese in the race for the title of my favorite lasagna.

Sausage Lasagna Recipe

Prep time: 45 min | Cook time: 1 hour | Total time: 1 hour and 45 min

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped fine
1 pound sweet Italian sausage meat (stuffing from 4 links)
1 35oz can of imported Italian tomatoes
salt & pepper to taste
3 fresh basil leaves
1 recipe Ricotta-Béchamel (see below)
1 pound of fresh mozzarella cut into small cubes
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmagiano-Reggiano cheese
1 recipe of homemade fresh pasta rolled out and cut into 13 inch long pieces

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Heat olive oil in a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and sautè, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes.
3. Add sausage meat, and salt & pepper to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally until sausage is browned approximately 10 minutes.
4. In a large bowl, crush the tomatoes with your hands then add them with their juices to the pan. Add 1/2 cup of water and bring to a simmer. Turn heat to low and let simmer until thickened, about 30 minutes. At the very end of cooking, tear the basil leaves into pieces with your hands and stir into the sauce. Remove the sauce from the heat.
5. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In 3 batches add the lasagna sheets to the boiling water and cook until just under al dente. Remove the noodles from the pot using a slotted spoon, place in a colander, rinse under cold water to stop the cooking and spread out on clean kitchen towels.
6. Spread 1 cup sauce over bottom of a 13×9-inch glass baking dish. Cover with a layer of 2 to 3 lasagna noodles, overlaping slightly to fit. Spread 1/3 of the Ricotta-Béchamel mixture on the noodles, top with 1 cup of the sauce. Spread 1/4 of the mozzarella over the sauce. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of parmaggiano-reggiano and top with a layer of lasagna noodles.
7. Repeat this 2 more times. Cover the final layer of lasagna noodles with the remaining sauce and sprinkle remaining cup of mozzarella on top.
8. Cover baking dish with aluminum foil, place in oven and cook for 60 minutes. Remove foil and cook until cheese is melted about 5 minutes more. Remove from oven and let sit 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Ricotta-Béchamel Filling

4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons unbleached white flour
1 cup whole milk
1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Prep time: 5 min | Cook time: 15 min | Total time: 20 min

1. Melt the butter in a medium sauce pan over low heat. Add the flour and stir with a wire whisk until it forms a paste.
2. Slowly add the milk to the butter and flour mixture, whisking until smooth.
3. Continue to cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until the mixture is thick and smooth, it should coat the back of a spoon.
4. Remove from heat and refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes.
5. Remove from refrigerator, add the ricotta, salt and pepper, and stir until well combined.

My wife made a trip to Arthur Avenue this weekend and picked up, among other things, some fresh ricotta cheese from Calandra Cheese Market and tagliatelle from Borgatti’s Pasta. While trying to figure out what sauce we should serve with the tagliatelle, she suggested that I make a Tomato Sauce with fresh ricotta on top like she has seen my father do from time to time.

Normally I would think of doing this with a short dried pasta like penne or rigatoni, rather than fresh noodles, but decided to give it a shot anyway and it worked out quite well. You could toss the ricotta with the pasta and sauce before serving, but I like the presentation of spooning it on top.

Tagliatelle with Tomato Sauce and Ricotta Recipe

Prep time: 5 min | Cook time: 25 min | Total time: 30 min

Serves 4

1 35oz can imported Italian tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
2 fresh basil leaves
1 pound taggliatelle
fresh ricotta cheese

1. Place tomatoes in a large bowl and crush them by hand.
2. Heat olive oil in a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and sautè, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and cook briefly until garlic is lightly browned, less than 1 minute.
4. Add The crushed tomatoes with their juices to the pan. Add 1/2 cup of water season with salt & pepper, and bring to a simmer. Turn heat to low and let simmer until thickened, about 20 minutes. At the very end of cooking, tear the basil leaves into pieces with your hands and stir into the sauce.
5. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the Tagliatelle. Cook uncovered over high heat until al dente.
6. Drain the pasta and toss with half of the sauce. Dish pasta out into individual serving plates and top with a little more sauce. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the fresh ricotta on top of each dish of pasta and serve.