While living in Italy, my family spent summer vacation in a small village outside of Naples. During the day, my brother and I would scavenge the beaches for shells, rocks and fish, and at night, we would all gather around the dining room table for a warm Italian meal. At the simple age of seven, I had two vices: the sea and olives. My mother used to call me the “olive addict” and told me that I needed to go to “olives-anonymous” for my severe obsession with the vinegary snack. As I grew more accustomed to Italian cuisine, I found there were very few dishes that combined my love for the sea and my love for olives––at least until I tried Pasta alla Puttanesca. The dish reminds me of my childhood, as I fondly remember eating this dish on the shores of Naples with my family. Now I feel inclined to share this dish with my classmates as its aroma reminds me of warm summer evenings spent with good company.

Pasta alla Puttanesca is an extremely simple dish made of only a handful of ingredients: capers, kalamata olives, anchovies, red pepper flakes, olive oil, garlic, tomatoes and pasta. The best thing about this sauce is that it can be created by such basic ingredients that nearly every kitchen tends to keep on hand. As a result, I find the best time to create this dish is when you are in a pinch before a dinner party (and want to show off to your friends). Many people have the misconception that cooking for others can be daunting, expensive and tedious. Yet, this recipe is fast and simple and you most likely have at least half of the ingredients already in your pantry. While it is a simple dish, it boasts pungent aromas and flavor and will be a hit for any crowd. In fact, what also makes this dish extremely convenient, is that it does not raise a lot of allergy problems––it’s free of gluten, nuts, dairy, soy and is vegetarian.

Italians are fond of coming up with creative names for their dishes. Carbonara (meaning “in the manner of coal miners”) gets its name because the flecks of black pepper appear like coal against the creamy white sauce. Amatriciana (meaning “in the manner of the lovers”) received its name due to its red, spicy and seductive sauce. While the derivations for the names Pasta alla Carbonara and Pasta all‘Amatriciana are fairly logical and undisputed, Pasta alla Puttanesca has a long history that remains constantly disputed in Italian culture. In Italian, the word “puttana” translates to “whore”––as a result, Pasta alla Puttanesca roughly translates to “pasta of the whore.” There are several explanations as to why the Italians gave this delicious pasta such a vulgar name. The first explanation, as I described in the recipe headnote, is that in 18th century Naples, prostitution was extremely popular. According to a Neapolitan legend, some prostitutes were so beautiful and seductive that the only way to resist them was to put beeswax in your ears and be tied to the mast of a ship. As a result, some believe that Pasta alla Puttanesca got its name from being just as irresistible as 18th century prostitutes. Others claim that the dish’s name originated in the 1950s when a group of hungry sailors walked into a restaurant late at night and asked the owner to make them something. When the owner told the sailors he did not have many ingredients, the sailors told him to make “una qualsiasi puttanata” (an Italian idiom meaning “whatever works”). The owner only had a can of tomatoes, olives, some capers and a few anchovy fillets, and that’s how he came up with the sauce. Finally, other Italians believe that the name of the dish refers to it being “prepared as it comes,” or easy and without complications and preparation. Regardless of the derivation of its name, Pasta alla Puttanesca remains one of the most famous Italian pasta dishes, great for a casual family dinner.

Since the sauce for this dish is quite simple, I felt it was only right to take on the challenge of making fresh pasta. While I had heard it was a tedious task, I did not realize the amount of patience that goes into making fresh pasta by hand. I began by following the vague instructions of one of my mother’s old cookbooks. Yet, after kneading the dough for nearly twenty minutes and still not attaining a firm enough density, I went rogue and began experimenting to try and find the correct balance between wet and dry. I first added oil, as I thought it was too dry. Then I added more flour, as I felt it had become too wet. I went back and forth, adding oil and then flour about five or six times until I was finally able to bring the dough to a smooth yet elastic texture. While I woke the next morning with pain in my forearms, the reward was worth it. This was my first time every making homemade pasta. My parents love to boast that they grow their own vegetables and herbs and make all of their dishes from scratch. Yet, the one thing my parents will never make by scratch are noodles. As a result, I am glad I was given the opportunity to try this challenging endeavor and finally be able to taunt my parents for being more sustainable than they are.