Ben Asks - Pasta Puttanesca

I am a massive fan of learning, and I have always asked questions. I figured that perhaps we could all do with more education. Welcome to ‘Ben Asks’, a brand new, hopefully monthly feature where I ask a question and we can learn together.

This month I ask: What is the meaning and origin of the dish pasta Puttanesca?

For those unfamiliar, Puttanesca is a sauce comprised of tomatoes, garlic, olives, capers, anchovies, and chilli. It’s a quick and easy meal, but what of its famous moniker?

I was first introduced to it by the Series of Unfortunate Events books, where the Baudelaires are tasked with cooking for Count Olaf and his acting troupe, and in many inventive ways they come up with Puttanesca, instead of roast Beef. There was no mention of whores, prostitution, or even afternoon sex.

Nigella Lawson referred to it as pasta cooked in a whoreish fashion, and had even more fun by calling her version sluts spaghetti. She has since rebranded it as Slatterns Pasta.

Etymology suggests that there is a link between the meal and prostitution. Puttana in Italian means whore or prostitute, and Puttanesca is an adjective derived from it. Thus, there is a consensus that this meal may have been invented in Naples in the mid-20th century as a dish that could be whipped up in between servicing customers.

There is, as with many things, conjecture around the name. There is no definitive answer. It is more realistic that the sauce is named after its origin of ingredients. Puttanesca is made entirely with canned and jarred items, a store cupboard meal.

It’s implied that a person who makes it hasn’t had the time to buy fresh ingredients, and is being ‘lazy’ making this. The addition of ‘whore’ speaks more of misogyny and sexism, and the presumption that women are the providers of freshly prepared foods and a store cupboard sauce makes one a lazy cook.

So, a name with a thousand meanings, in reality, means nothing. Puttanesca remains a convenient and delicious sauce. We can leave out the misogyny of the ingredients list and enjoy dinner without any prejudice!

So that was Ben Asks. I hope you learned something!