Like a perfectly made Old Fashioned, pasta puttanesca relies on simple ingredients properly prepared. This is the high point of our weeknight summer dining on the farm.
Ingredients:
- A couple of very ripe tomatoes (preferably just picked)
- 4-8 cloves of garlic
- 15-25 leaves of basil
- Olive oil
- Coarse salt
- Fresh ground pepper
- Pasta: either shell, bowtie, or penne
Steps:
- All in the same bowl: chop the tomatoes, chop your garlic, shred the basil, add coarse salt, then grind your pepper until your arm grows tired. Add about half-a-cup olive oil, gently mix. Stick the bowl into the fridge for two hours.
- Boil the pasta, drain, put in the serving bowl. Pour the cold ingredients over the hot pasta and toss.
Eat at once. Giuliano Bugialli admonishes you to not add cheese. I agree. Enjoy. I suggest a glass or two of red wine to wash it down.
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Reading tonight: The Fine Art of Italian Cooking (G. Bugialli)