Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca – Sinfully Savory

PAUOA, Hawai‘i – Artfully crafted with simple ingredients, there is nothing unwholesome about this pasta dish, except perhaps for its name.

Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca roughly translates to “whore’s spaghetti.”  Some say it got its name because it was a cheap and easy meal prostitutes could prepare between customers.  Others say the name was derived from the word Puttanata, or garbage, because it can be made from items lying around the pantry.

This recipe is among our most cherished treasures from a fond trip to Italy this spring.

We were given this handwritten recipe by Stefano Salvadori, the proprietor of Academia Del Buon Gusto (The School of Good Taste) in Panzano in Chianti.  It is among our most cherished treasures from a fond trip to Italy this spring.  The sweetness of the Marzano tomatoes are perfectly balanced by the briny anchovies, capers, and olives making for a sinfully savory dish!

When shopping for the ingredients, try to find Marzano tomatoes – they are sweeter and have fewer seeds than the typical canned tomatoes.  R. Field Wine Company sells them.  Also, get capers preserved in salt.  The first time we made the dish, we used some salt-preserved capers we had purchased at a farmer’s market in Greve in Chianti.  When cooked, they plumped to the size of blueberries!  On our next trip we’ll bring back more as the plump ones are hard to find here in Hawai‘i.

This dish will tantalize your taste buds fresh off the burner but is even better the next day.  Buon appetito!

Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca

2 cans of San Marzano tomatoes (broken up)
1 ounce of anchovy paste
1/2 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 T of olive oil
2 T of red wine vinegar
2 T of capers, rinsed
1 lb. of spaghetti
1/2  cup of Kalamata olives
Basil leaves, cut into ribbons

Sautee onions and garlic in olive oil until onions are golden.  Add anchovy paste and blend.  Add tomatoes, vinegar & capers.  Bring to a boil.  Add olives and simmer for 35-40 minutes.  Meanwhile, boil water, add pasta & cool ‘til al dente.  Serve sauce over pasta and garnish with basil.

Mom, dad, Nadine & David taste tuscan-made balsamic vinegar with Stefano Salvadori, the proprietor of Academia Del Buon Gusto in Panzano in Chianti.

Lentil, Kale & Chorizo Soup – Feed Your Soul!

PAUOA, Hawai‘i – When it comes to cooking, David wears the chef’s hat and I wear an apron . . . mostly to make sure that I don’t spill any wine on my shirt as I hover over him in amazement.  Well, recently I put that apron to good use and helped him prepare one of our favorite rainy-day dishes – lentil, kale & chorizo soup.

We found the basic recipe for the soup online and David tweaked it a bit, adding the kale for color and nutrients.  The recipe calls for chorizo sausage – you can get some at Mercado De La Raza on South Beretania St. (best) or at Whole Foods.  Finally, you can prepare the soup on the stove but we used an electric pressure cooker, one of the best kitchen appliance investments we’ve ever made.  The Fagor 3-in-1 Electric Multi-Cooker not only serves as a pressure cooker, but a slow cooker and rice cooker as well!

Hearty, smoky, with just a hint of heat, this soup is one of our favorites and it's even better the next day!

LENTIL, KALE & CHORIZO SOUP

1 bag of lentils
1 large onion, diced
1 bunch cilantro (leaves only)
3 carrots peeled & chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
5 large kale leaves, de-ribbed & chopped
2-3 links of chorizo sausage, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cans of chicken broth (14 oz. each)
Salt & pepper to taste

Brown chorizo, onions & garlic.  Drain fat.  Add lentils, broth, vegetables, salt, pepper & most of the cilantro. We put all of the ingredients in the pressure cooker then sealed it without stirring them.  We find that the veggies remain more intact this way.  If you simmer yours on a stove, you’ll have to stir it occasionally.  Simmer 1 hour on the stove or 25 minutes in a pressure cooker.  Garnish with remaining cilantro before serving.  Bon appétit! – ‘Dine

Note:  This soup condenses when refrigerated overnight so add water before serving a second time.

The answer to our prayers & palates

ROME, Italy – After enjoying an audience with the pope which lasted nearly two hours (His Holiness shared his message of peace in Italian, English, German and French) we were famished & wanted a peaceful place to have a leisurely lunch. Il Ristorante Piacere Molise was the answer to our prayers. The family-run, restaurant serves simple, traditional dishes and was only three blocks from the Vatican.

The calamari arrosto (delicately grilled squid on a bed of arugula) was worth returning for...and we did return a week later with the rest of the family!

Franco, Angela & Mauro Ricci created a memorable dining experience.

Chef/owner Franco Ricci, his beautiful wife Angela and their son Mauro created a memorable dining experience for us, mom & dad.  We arrived early in the lunch hour, rang a door bell at the entrance to the restaurant and were greeted by Mauro. He ushered us into the cozy dining room like we were family. Wine and bread were soon on the table. We took a while to select our dishes because everything looked so good – but Mauro never made us feel rushed.

Each dish we ordered tasted just as we hoped it would. The calamari arrosto (delicately grilled squid on a bed of arugula), the orecchiette pietrabbondante (chicory, sausage & truffle pasta), and the wilted arugula & beef salad with shaved parmigiana cheese were dishes worth returning for…and we did return a week later with the rest of the family.

Mauro’s traditional tiramisu, rumored to be the best in Roma, was perfection. On our second visit, we were treated to a strawberry version that was equally delectable! The family agreed that the dishes at Piacere Molise were among the most deliciously authentic in Roma, and worthy of lofty praise. Alora!

Il Ristorante Piacere Molise
Via Candia 60
www.piaceremolise.net

Arugula Salad