Ah, yes, once again, a dish based on the leftovers in my fridge...tonight it's Tomato and Olive Penne! This recipe is from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food mini-magazine-thingy. I've been making it for AGES. It's a super easy pasta dish, and makes it's own sauce, how convenient! Oh, and yes, that's a Martha Stewart "glamour shot" of the pasta; my photo appears later in the post. I made a rather large individual serving of the recipe tonight, as my husband does not eat vegetables (don't feel bad for me, I've learned to work around his pickiness), but the following is the original Martha recipe.

Tomato and Olive Penne

salt and pepper

1 pound penne or other short pasta

1/4 cup olive oil

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced (I used dehydrated minced garlic)

2/3 pound cherry tomatoes (2 cups) halved or quartered (I used grape tomatoes, halved)

1 tsp. dried Oregano

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (a little goes a long way)

1/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced

1/4 cup fresh parsley (I used dried)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

In a large pot of boiling salted water (Nigella Lawson says to make it as salty as the Mediterranean), cook the penne according to package instructions until al dente, about 13 minutes.  Drain. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until just golden, about one minute.  Add the cherry tomatoes, oregano, crushed red pepper flakes, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper.  Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring, until tomato juices run, about 3 minutes.  Add the penne, olives, parsley and 1/4 cup Parmesan to the skillet and toss to combine. Serve with more cheese if desired.  Um, more cheese is ALWAYS desired...:)

  

In my vast cooking history (ha ha) I know I've come across Pasta Puttanesca somewhere, and this particular pasta recipe  seems to come very close. I found a lovely passage in one of my Rachael Ray cookbooks describing Puttanesca..."Puttanesca is a sauce named after streetwalkers.  The ladies would make pots of a fishy-smelling mixture of tomatoes, anchovies, olives and garlic and leave the pots in brothel windows to attract fishermen in like stray cats.  After the business was done, the sauce was tossed with pasta and became their dinner, or breakfast.  This is a very unappetizing story for such a delicious dish, so when I am asked what "it" means, I tell a slightly less descriptive version, which you can pass along: Puttanesca is the sauce of the ladies of the night because it's spicy, fast and easy! (It still makes me blush, but at least I remain hungry.)" I read this out loud to my husband and said, "this is SO going on my food blog"! I'm thinkin' Martha would have never included this nugget of information along with her recipe. 

If you want Rachael Ray's recipe, here you go:

Spicy Shrimp and Penne with Puttanesca Sauce

1 pound penne pasta

coarse salt

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (that's EVOO, to those in the know)

8 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

8 to 10 anchovy fillets

1/2 cup cracked, pitted, good-quality black olives, like Kalamata

3 to 4 Tbl. capers, drained and coarsely chopped

1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes

1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes

1 pound (24-count) peeled and deveined shrimp, tails removed

2 handfuls fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped

Place a large pot of water on to boil.  When it comes up, add the penne and salt.  While the pasta cooks, heat a large, deep skillet over medium heat.  Add the EVOO, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes and anchovies.  Break up the fish with the back of a wooden spoon until they melt into the oil.  The fish will develop a nutty, salty flavor; if you think you don't like anchovies, try this ONCE and you will!  Add the olives, capers and tomatoes.  Bring the sauce to a bubble and add the shrimp, scattering them in a single layer.  Cover the pan to cook the shrimp, 3 to 4 minutes.  They will turn pink, opaque and firm.  Uncover the pan and add the parsley.  Toss and adjust the seasonings to taste.  When the pasta is al dente, drain it and add it to the sauce.  Toss to combine and serve hot.

Enjoy your "whore pasta"! I've had a long day, trapped indoors with a toddler, and I'm going to bed!