The Best Puttanesca Sauce

Hayden's Grammie was up from California a few months ago. Grammie is hilarious. We looked at 3 karat diamond rings together and talked about how much we deserved them. We are on the same level. Then we headed across the street, toddler and husbands in tow, for a fabulous pasta dinner. This was the day. The day I was introduced to puttanesca sauce. And my life has not been the same since. I did a little spin off and created a recipe that would work for my little family. We have this or some variation of it once every couple of weeks and that night is a family dinner favorite. So here it is. One of my most favorite recipes...

Abby's Puttanesca Pasta

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 medium yellow onion
2 cans diced tomatoes
3/4 cans of tomato sauce
1/2 cup diced kalamata olives
2 tablespoons capers
1 diced green bell pepper
1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
However much red pepper flakes you can handle
Salt and Pepper to taste
Chopped Fresh Basil Leaves - maybe 4 or 5
Enough cooked whole wheat pasta to feed your family. Mine requires 8 oz for dinner.

Start with a skillet over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Drop in 2 cloves of chopped garlic and one whole diced yellow onion (obviously I would encourage you to use all organic products, but that is another blog altogether, so we won't go there now). Stir these together and allow the onion to get all yummy and soft. Watch during this part of the process. You want the onion and garlic to sweeten up and get nice and soft, but not to burn. Hence cooking over medium heat. I know you are impatient, but seriously, don't burn it. It will suck. This will take about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, start your water to boil for that whole wheat pasta you will be dropping in. Cook pasta according to directions. While doing so, add 2 cans of diced tomatoes, 3/4 can of tomato sauce, 1/2 cup of diced kalamata olives, 2 tablespoons capers, 1 diced green bell pepper (or whatever color bell pepper you may have). Salt and pepper to your liking... we like lots. Mix in about 1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning. Add in however many shakes of crushed red pepper flakes you can handle. If I am making a batch just for me, it would be quite a bit more than if I am making for my family... but you will have to experiment with what works for you. Let this simmer for at least 15 minutes so all the flavors can marry. Once your pasta is cooked al dente, ladle in about 1/2 cup to 1 cup of the salted pasta water to your sauce. This makes it all starchy and adds a little more liquid, which helps. Drain your pasta. Serve in a pretty bowl, pasta on bottom with enough sauce to coat. Save the extra sauce in the fridge or freezer to re-use later. This will allow for about 2 dinner size servings of sauce. We like to have leftovers for lunch in our house, so that works perfectly for us! This recipe is also perfect to add in your favorite veggies or other spices. Almost anything tastes good when you have red pepper flakes, onion and garlic in one recipe! And by the way, if you are freezing the leftovers, let them cool before transferring to the freezer. You can store in the freezer for a few months but this sauce won't last that long in there.

Oh, and I can't believe I forgot... chop up some fresh basil leaves to garnish the top and save some extra for your plate. You're the cook, you deserve a little extra! Serve with a green salad and garlic bread and you will be hero of the household. If you are serving to a little growing toddler or you just want some extra nutrition, you can also sprinkle the top with a bit of nutrional yeast to add in some extra bang for your buck. Enjoy!