Linguini alla Puttanesca

After our wine tour in Mendoza and needing a nice refreshing Dave and I ended up at a great Italian restaurant to soothe our early evening hangover. I, being worse off, got the plain bolognese, Dave got the puttanesca, promising to be a little spicier. It was the best choice and amazing. AND, After a great night out with Sharon and Matt and after splitting a chicken and muscle puttanesca, he requested we cook one ourselves.

In the supermarket, and with a desire to have a more healthy diet we crafted a veggie dish with a wonderful eggplant instead of the protein.


This is how it went:

Shopping List:
1 eggplant
1 green bell pepper
1/2 medium sized onion
1 serrano pepper
2 tbspns of dried crushed red pepper
1 small can of mild green chillies
1 can of pitted black olives
2 large cloves of garlic
2 tbspns of capers
1 tsp of salt and to taste
1/2 a small can of tomato paste
1 bay leaf
Fresh cracked pepper


Putting it together:


1. Peel and slice the eggplant and soak in a salt water bath for 30 minutes.
2. Remove eggplant and dice
3. Heat 2 tbspns of olive oil and add eggplant and the next four ingredients to the pot. Cook for about 7-8 minutes before it starts to brown.
4. Add the mild green chilies and can of black olives and the rest of the ingredients.
5. Make sure all ingredients combine.. if it is too thick start to add water, you can add up to about 2/3 cup of water, this is a great way to add to the sauce and let it cook down with out it getting really thick and gooky.
6. Cook for as long as desired but a minimum of 30 minutes for the best flavor.


Puttanesca:


- Known for being ("the whore's spaghetti") a this and that of the remnants in the fridge, you shouldn't hesitate to add similar flavors that you like, such as Greek olives, green olives, all sorts of peppers, more or less spice.. any way is the right way, but the above combo was so wonderful it must be shared!
- This meal was accompanied by freshly grated Parmesan cheese and a fresh large chopped curly parsley- adding a great tartness to the savory meal.