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Well, how could I resist this translation of pasta alla puttanesca, whore's pasta as it usually is described in English? The general consensus seems to be that this is the sort of dishcooked by slatterns who don't go to market to get their ingredients fresh, but are happy to use stuff out of jars and tins. I hold my hands up to that. Or maybe one should just attribute the name gamely to the fiery tang and robust saltiness of the dish? But, anyhow,what better recipe to start off this section devoted to the fruits of the larder. Please fire up the sauce if you want, but do know that even though the first mouthful might seem not quite hot enough, the heat builds as you eat. I sometimes go a little cross-cultural in my chilli-case and use hot red pickled jalapenos from a jar found on the Tex-Mex shelves of the supermarket. And while you're there, do look out for the tiny French nonpareil (or nonpareilles) capers: they may be smaller but they pack more of a pungent punch than the larger capers.

Recipe posted by Nigella

Ingredients

3 x 15ml tablespoons olive oil

8 anchovy fillets, drained and finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced, crushed or grated

½ teaspoon crushed chilli flakes, or 1–2 x 15ml tablespoons pickled

red jalapeño chilli peppers (drained, sliced and diced), or to taste

500g spaghetti

1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes

150g (drained weight) pitted black olives, chopped a bit

2 x 15ml tablespoons small capers, well rinsed and drained

2–3 x 15ml tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, to serve (optional)

salt and pepper, to taste

Method

Serves: 4 to 6

Put water for pasta on to boil, though you don’t need to get started on the sauce until itis pretty well boiling.
Pour the oil into a wide, shallowish frying pan, casserole or wok, and put on a medium heat.
Add the finely chopped anchovies and cook for about 3 minutes, pressing and pushing with a wooden spoon, until the anchovies have almost “melted”, then add the garlic and chilli flakes (or sliced then diced jalapeños) and cook, stirring for another minute.
This is probably the stage at which you will want to be salting the boiling pasta water and adding the spaghetti to cook according to packet instructions.
Going back to the sauce, add the tomatoes, olives and capers and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring every now and again, by which time it will have thicken slightly. Taste for seasoning.
Just before the pasta is ready, remove about an espresso cupful of cooking water, and reserve it. When the pasta is cooked as desired, drain and add the spaghetti to the sauce in your wok or pan, adding a little reserved pasta water, if needed, to help amalgamate the sauce. Scatter with chopped parsley, if there's some to hand, and serve in slatternly style, preferably with an untipped cigarette clamped between crimson-painted lips.