Friday 18 January 2013

Joe's Putanesca Sauce

Close your eyes and imagine the wonderful rich and garlicky fragrance of this delicious dish...


Joe has been craving putanesca sauce after reading about it somewhere. He added anchovies to the shopping list this week and yesterday spent a very pleasurable hour making this sauce and the spaghetti. It was very hard to concentrate on the tennis with such a fabulous smell drifting through the house!

You'll need:

1/3 cup of olive oil
10 anchovies(a small jar)
8 whole garlic cloves
1/2 t dried chilli flakes
a red and a green fresh chilli, chopped
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 cup of passata(pureed tomato)
2 t capers
12 pitted and halved black olives
5 chopped garlic cloves
1/3 cup chopped parsley(Joe used basil)
1 T basil

Heat the oil and gently fry the whole garlic cloves and the anchovies until the garlic is lightly browned and the anchovies fall apart.
Cook the chillies for a few seconds and then add the tomatoes, passata, capers and olives and simmer for around 30 minutes.
Add the chopped garlic and herbs and simmer for another 5 minutes.
Serve over pasta.

There is quite some debate about whether or not to add parmesan cheese to this dish, "experts" say that where you have anchovies in the dish you should never have cheese too...it certainly didn't need it. Some people dislike anchovies but they break right down and just add a lovely saltiness to the sauce. Perfecto!

Joe went to Perth on the train on Monday to see his dermatologist. I thought it was just a regular check-up so stayed at home but he had 3 BCCs removed and had about 16 stitches in his chin and his back. He never complains but I know he is very sore. Hopefully they will be benign, they usually are.

Thank you every-one for your kind thoughts and words about Priscilla's progress yesterday, she reads all the comments and is buoyed by knowing so many people care about her and her family.

Hope you have a lovely weekend,
A little more weeding is on my horizon!
Sue
xxx

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