So, I made some pasta for lunch in roughly the same way that I always make it; chunky, thick, spicy and meaty. I actually know a wide range of people that make it in a similar fashion. Today I was thinking about it and pasta prima vera and the word “puttanesca” popped into my head. I think because I may have heard someone somewhere down the line call it that. Also I have this problem where certain words with a really excellent ring to them occasionally pop into my head. An example of this is ” Karen Neckyfarow”who is a girl I knew in high school who’s name has SUCH A FUCKING GOOD ring to it.
Karen, with her grama?
At any rate, this is besides the point, except to describe my wholehearted surprise in discovering that the pasta that I thought might be called “pasta alla puttanesca” was indeed called just that. Thank god for wikipedia, honestly. The name means ” pasta the way a whore would make it.” And apparently there is a bunch of debate over whether or not the name comes from the fact that it is spicy and sexy like a lady of ill repute or that is it fast and easy to make, muck like a whore, or that it is fast and easy to make between johns. Who can say. All I know is I make pasta like a whore.
Puttanesca
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October 27, 2008 at 2:05 PM
Christian
I made a puttanesca last night in honor of this posting.
“sauce the way a whore would make it” screams MAKE ME…food, sex…perfect marriage of the two. Funny thing, I felt beautifully cheap whilst chopping the onions and bell peppers and other such ingredients into large lazy pieces. It was almost visceral. I mean, i’ve made the dish before but last night while determinedly appreciating it’s heritage – i found myself appreciating it so much more.
October 27, 2008 at 10:45 PM
davekrofta
agreed.