Italiano
One of the “weirdest” recipe names in an Italian cookbook is, hands down, alla puttanesca sauce.
Now: the recipe is straightforward. It is in fact a sauce of tomatoes, olives, capers, garlic and sometimes anchovies (the purists would say it is this last ingredient that distinguishes it from the marinara).
Some variations include the addition of oregano, black pepper, and/or chilli pepper.
Long story short: nothing too elaborate.
What strikes the imagination is rather its name, which comes from the slang name used to indicate the person who carries out the oldest profession in the world.
How it came to be called that is a mystery. The funniest part, however, is reading the various legends revolving around this name that we could define, using a euphemism, as “unusual”.
One of the “theories” says that the dish was a typical dish that, in Naples, was given to the customers of brothels to help them regain their strength (curiously, there is a similar legend linked to the birth of Tiramisu).
Another one says that it was invented by Yvette, a “loose woman” of French origins, who worked (with a fair amount of success) in the downtown of Naples.
Yet another legend says that this name was born on the island of Ischia, in the famous restaurant “O Rangio Fellone“: two customers, despite it being late at night and the kitchen closing, asked the cook to prepare a quick dish. A quick puttanata, which in Italian is a slang name given to things of little importance (even not related to the ars amatoria).
So the chef prepared this dish, naming it puttanesca.
But perhaps the funniest story is that the people gave it this name because the smell of the sauce reminded them of vaginal flora (I personally blame the anchovies…).
I don’t know if what I wrote has made you hungry or not!
In any case… if you’re after some content for your catering and/or hospitality business, just give me a shout!
