Taste & Create: Pasta Puttanesca

***Taste & Create is a fabulous monthly blog event in which participants are randomly paired off to choose and prepare a dish from their partner's blog.  If you'd like to join us, please email me at cowgirlmin07 [at] gmail [dot] com by the 8th of the month!!  ***

 This month, Taste & Create had dwindling numbers for some reason, and an odd number at that.  We can't have an odd number, so I put my name in the hat twice.  Kat, of Study Food, is one of my partners this month.

I perused Study Food for a while, and knowing that there is no way I would ever think about trying Kat's Marmite Spaghetti, (but I had to look at the recipe anyway because I just couldn't believe it), I was excited to find her recipe for Pasta Puttanesca.  Or as she calls it, "Don't Ask Don't Tell Pasta Puttanesca!"

I've been looking for a good recipe for Puttanesca for some time, and actually my little boys have been excited to try it because it's something the Beaudelaire orphans prepare for Count Olaf in one of the Series of Unfortunate Events books. (If you haven't read them with your children, you must!  Check them out here:  The Complete Wreck (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Books 1-13))

Not only is this pasta EASY, it is delicious!  I love the complex flavors, and so did my almost-nine-year old son, and my husband.  The little brother was sleeping at the time, so no report there, but believe me when I tell you he missed out.  This is good stuff, and will be made in our house again and again.  Although I will totally have to employ Kat's Don't Ask Don't Tell strategy when I serve it up to my mom! 

Kat's Pasta Puttanesca

1 - 2 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
45g can anchovies - chopped finely (our cans come in 56g, a little larger but I used them all!)
2 cans crushed/chopped tomatoes (I used diced tomatoes)
12 ish olives - chopped (I used Kalamata, Kat's "favourite" but you can use any olives)
1/2 tablespoon capers
red chile flakes to taste (optional)
1 tablespoon finely chopped basil

Enough pasta for four. Long, thinnish varieties are best here. - cooked according to the directions on the packet.  (I used spaghetti)

Grated Parmesan to serve.

Heat the oil, garlic and anchovies together in a pan. Heating all three together - rather that putting the anchovies and garlic into hot allow helps to prevent the garlic from burning and becoming acrid and also helps the anchovies to melt and dissolve into the garlicky oil thus lowering the chances of coming across a lump on one's plate.

Stir in the tomatoes, olives, capers, chiles and basil... allow to heat through.

Combine the sauce with the well-drained pasta and toss gently until the sauce evenly coats the pasta.