A typical Neapolitan pasta made from tomato sauce, capers, black olives and oil, golden garlic and anchovies. 

The Italian Association of Fresh Pasta Makers credited the invention of this dish to Sandro Petti, owner of Rancio Fellone on Ischian island.

Like some great dishes that were born out of lack of some ingredients, spaghetti alla puttanesca was a creation in the 1950s and became popular in the 1960s with tomato sauce, sliced black olives, salted capers and anchovy fillets, and last but not least the spicy chilli peppers.

Recipe for one portion

 Ingredients: 

- Tomatoes: 200gr

- Celery: 20gr, chopped

- Onion: 30gr, chopped

- Garlic: 5 cloves, finely crushed,

- Capers: 5 pieces,

- Anchovy fillets in oil: chopped

- Sliced black olives: 30gr

- Basil: 3 leaves, chopped

- Butter: 2tsp

- Olive oil: 30ml

- Pinch of sugar, salt and pepper to taste

Method:

- Add oil in a heated saucepan, brown the chopped onion and celery

- Mix the peeled and seeded tomatoes, simmer with onion and celery in the pan

- Add salt, sugar and pepper, simmer for 45 minutes for the sauce to thicken and tomatoes well cooked 

- In another pan add olive oil, and crushed garlic to brown until golden, then add olives, anchovy and capers, pour the tomatoes into this pan, mix well

- In a pot of boiling water, add a pinch of salt, boil the spaghetti until al dente, then drain the pasta, add to the saucepan, mix well with the butter, then garnish with chopped basil

- Serve hot!

You can use spaghetti, penne or fusilli pasta.