The Neapolitan sauce “alla puttanesca” – a spicy tomato sauce with anchovies – is a traditional dish in Italian cuisine. This tomato classic can be interpreted in a fresh and modern way. Instead of using anchovies, here we have enriched the pasta variant “Pasta Marianesca” with fresh calamaretti. The protagonist of the dish is the fruity and intense tomato sauce.
Pickled anchovies give the Italian tomato sauce classic “alla puttanesca” an intense, fishy aroma, which largely determines the taste of the pasta dish. In order not to mask the fine nuances of the tomato sauce with the fishy taste and to give the pasta a light, fresh touch, we omit the anchovies – unlike the traditional “puttanesca” recipe.
Instead, we opt for small squids, also known as calamaretti. Calamaretti has a mild, fine fish aroma and is less bitter than anchovies. Shortly before serving, we put the calamaretti in a layer of lemon pancake, so that the fruity, fresh note of the tomato is in perfect harmony with the sea creature.
Recipe:Pasta Marianesca (for 4 people)
For the fresh pasta, process 2 eggs, 200 g flour and 20 ml water into a dough. Let the dough rest for a day and then roll it out and cut it to taste on the pasta machine. To serve, cook the pasta in boiling salted water for about 4 minutes and toss with olive oil and a little tomato sauce.
For the tomato sauce, dice 5 shallots, finely chop 2 cloves of garlic, stir both in olive oil and season with salt. Put 2 bottles of tomato sauce and a bay leaf on the browned shallots and garlic cubes, deglaze with 50 g white balsamic vinegar and the same amount of white wine. Let the whole sauce simmer for about 30 minutes and mix the pasta into the sauce to serve.
Wash 450 g of calamaretti, pat dry, clean and cut into strips. Sear in olive oil, season and place on kitchen paper. For the flavored pan cumin, heat the butter and olive oil in a pan and fry 60 g pan cumin until brown. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper. Finely chop ½ a bunch of parsley and the zest of a lemon, add to the pancake and season to taste. Before serving, fold the fried calamaretti into the mixture and divide over the pasta.
Arrange the pasta in a bowl and place the calamaretti on top. Drape one or two basil leaves over the dish as a garnish.
