PUTTANESCA BY THE GALLONS--THANKS CINDY! (A second smaller recipe included)


Sometimes you hang on to great recipes even when you don't make them often, due to any number of reasons. This is a fantastic recipe, easy, delicious and spot on. I got this recipe from my sister Cindy, who is an accomplished professional chef, so of course, the recipe feeds legions. This would be great for a large pasta party, the balance of all these traditional, strong flavors is heavenly, and would be great for people who eat fish but no other meats. I will add my own photo when I have an occasion to make a couple gallons of puttanesca sauce. 

2 c. olive oil
1 flat can of anchovies
1/2 c. dry basil
         2 Tbl. red pepper flakes
         1/2 c. garlic puree
         1 gallon canned roma tomatoes
         salt and pepper to taste
Cook 5 minutes. Add:
         1-1/2 c. capers
         2 c. pitted kalamata olives
Then add:
         1 gallon blanched, chopped, seeded tomatoes


Stir and cook down for about half an hour. 

Brown the anchovies in the olive oil in the bottom of a large kettle, then add the basil, pepper flakes, garlic puree, roma tomatoes and salt and pepper.

Cook for 5 minutes and add the capers and kalamata olives as well as the blanched, chopped tomatoes.  Stir often and cook down for about 30 minutes.
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Here is a second recipe I found somewhere in one of my hundreds of cookbooks, no idea which one, i do not take credit for anything except cooking this and enjoying it!
Puttanesca (enough sauce for at least 1 pound of pasta, I like a thin linguine)

2 Tbl. olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 large shallots, thinly slivered
a handful of chopped fresh basil
1/8 c. tomato paste
2  28-oz cans of italian plum tomatoes, with their juices
1 cup kalamata olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
1/4 c. small capers, drained
2 cans of anchovies in oil (2 ounces each)
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp dried red pepper flakes
salt and coarse black pepper to taste
1 lb. dry pasta
grated parmesan for toppings

Heat olive oil in heavy saucepan. Saute shallots and garlic until wilted but not browned. Put undrained tomatoes in a bowl, and squish the tomatoes until they break apart. (I remove any of the stem ends if they seem tough) They will break up further as they cook. Add tomato paste, basil and tomatoes with their juices to the pan, stir to mix well. Simmer until the tomatoes start to soften, 5 or ten minutes.

Open anchovies, drain oil into sauce, and chop the anchovies into small pieces. Add anchovies, capers, olives and dry herbs to sauce. Salt and pepper to taste. Go easy on the salt, you may not need any as many of the ingredients are pretty salty.

The sauce should simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep from sticking and to break down the tomatoes a little more.

Meanwhile, heat about 8 quarts of salted water to boiling, and cook 1 lb. of your favorite pasta according to package directions. Drain, add sauce and top with parmesan cheese.
Enjoy!


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