Red-Letter Pasta

There are several versions of how pasta puttanesca (“harlot’s pasta”) got its name. My favorite has it that the dish’s namesake was too busy to do her daily shopping and had to use nonperishables in her larder to make dinner.

I’ve always thought that the colorful name was a good reflection of the unabashedly robust flavors of this pasta sauce.

Whatever kind of work you do all day, you’ll appreciate being able to throw this meal together using the forgotten cans and tins in your pantry.

Menu

Pasta Puttanesca with Garlic Bread Crumbs

Wilted Spinach Salad

PASTA PUTTANESCA

8 (1/4-inch thick) slices day-old Italian bread, crusts trimmed

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil

5 to 6 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans peeled, crushed tomatoes

1 tablespoon capers

1/3 cup green olives, pitted and roughly chopped

3 anchovy fillets, rinsed and chopped, or 2 teaspoons anchovy paste

Salt

1 pound dried angel hair pasta

1/4 cup chopped parsley

Brush bread slices lightly with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Place on baking sheet and bake about 15 minutes at 350 degrees, turning once. Rub both sides of toasted slices with 1 clove garlic.

Grind bread in food processor or seal in plastic bag and smash with rolling pin. Set aside.

Mince remaining 4 to 5 cloves garlic.

Heat remaining 1/4 cup olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Saute minced garlic and red pepper flakes in oil 1 to 2 minutes. Add tomatoes with liquid and bring to boil. Reduce heat, add capers, olives and anchovies and simmer 15 minutes. Season with salt to taste.

Cook pasta in plenty of boiling salted water until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain.

Ladle sauce over cooked pasta and sprinkle with garlic bread crumbs and parsley.

4 servings. Each serving:

835 calories; 1,025 mg sodium; 5 mg cholesterol; 22 grams fat; 135 grams carbohydrates; 24 grams protein; 1.74 grams fiber.

WILTED SPINACH SALAD

1 (10-ounce) package spinach leaves

1/2 small head radicchio, torn into medium-size pieces

1/4 cup balsamic or red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons pine nuts

Salt, pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

Combine spinach, radicchio, vinegar, pine nuts and salt and pepper to taste in large heat-proof bowl. Heat olive oil in small skillet over high heat until it begins to smoke. Pour hot oil over salad and toss.

4 servings. Each serving:

186 calories; 132 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 18 grams fat; 6 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 0.76 gram fiber.

COUNTDOWN

30 minutes before: Put bread slices in oven; mince garlic; chop parsley, olives and anchovies.

25 minutes before: Assemble salad ingredients in bowl.

20 minutes before: Begin heating water for pasta and begin making sauce.

15 minutes before: Remove bread from oven, rub with garlic and grind.

10 minutes before: Cook pasta; heat olive oil for salad.

5 minutes before: Drain pasta; toss salad.

INGREDIENTS

Staples

1 (2-ounce) tin anchovy fillets in oil

Balsamic vinegar

Capers

Crushed red pepper flakes

Garlic

1 (7-ounce) jar green olives, any variety

Olive oil

Pepper

Salt

2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans peeled crushed tomatoes

Shopping List

1 loaf Italian bread

1 bunch parsley

1 (1-pound) package dried angel hair pasta

Pine nuts

1 small head radicchio

1 (10-ounce) package pre-washed spinach leaves

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Cook’s Tip

Make sure spinach and radicchio leaves are completely dry before tossing with hot oil or the oil may splatter.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Short Cuts

Purchased bread crumbs may be used instead of homemade ones, although the flavor and texture of homemade are far superior.