Puttanesca
I heart olives. I have a serious obsession with the fruit (yes, it is a fruit). I love how it is salty and meaty. I can finish a huge jar of olives in one sitting. I do not care if it is black or green, pitted or not. I like it in almost everything I eat. As a trying hard, pseudo vegetarian, having it with food makes the meal more tasty. If I were a criminal, I can easily be caught with my custom pizza: four cheese with black olives and pineapple.
That brings me to my favorite pasta. Puttanesca is very basic yet very tasty. The original recipe (from what I know) consists of tomato sauce, olives, tomatoes, capers and anchovies. This suits my frustration in vegetarianism very well since I simply have to ask the chef to skip one ingredient. If the chef is nice, I dare ask for penne instead of spaghetti, hoping he will not spit in it. I love how this dish is very basic and simple yet full of flavor. Its simplicity is also to everyone’s full advantage, it is hard for the chef to get it wrong making it a very safe choice for picky eaters. I have also always wondered why the name sounds obscene.
If you breakdown the name, it is easily translated in at least two languages as whore. I looked it up and I was right. One account claims one man had a group of hungry people demanding he make anything with what he had around the house which were tomatoes, capers and olives. Another account claims that in old Italy, this is what whores used to make with their meager resources for customers after their main service. Another one claims the name came from its flavor: hot, spicy and strong, just like a tart. Whichever is true, I still love it. There was a time when it was all I had for a month.