My version of puttanesca (whore's pasta, or prostitute's spaghetti) is as follows:

For two people.

Four anchovy fillets in oil

100g pitted black olives, roughly chopped

A tablespoon of nonpareil capers

Chopped fresh parsley

A handful of chopped cherry tomatoes, or a tin of tomatoes

Two cloves of garlic, sliced (NOT crushed: never do that abominable thing)

A goodly sprinkling of dried chilli flakes, to taste

Extra virgin olive oil

Freshly-ground black pepper (no salt)

250g spaghetti


Get your spaghetti on the boil in salted water.

In your biggest and best shallow pan (mine are Le Creuset: snob), gently fry the garlic and chill flakes in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil for a few minutes. If the garlic goes brown, you've got it wrong. Just a gentle sizzle.

Add the anchovy and break up the fillets with a wooden spoon until they've melted. Add the capers, tomatoes, parsley, pepper and olives. Simmer until the pasta is done.

Drain the pasta when it's al dente, reserving some pasta water. You may or may not need some. Throw the pasta into the pan with the sauce. Mix well and serve. No Parmesan, but a drizzle of your very finest olive goes well. The whole spirit of the thing is that you use things only out of tins, jars or packets. That's what the ladies of the night would do to fortify themselves for the night's work to come. Gawd knows what their clients thought about the ensuing garlic breath...

In Napoli they would get the Camorra on to you for using anchovies. In other regions the chilli is omitted. That's a shame. You can hold the parsley back and sprinkle it on at the end. You can add dried oregano if you like. Not the worst idea in the world.





Put your