Pasta Puttanesca

Literally translates to "whore's spaghetti" in Italian.  Really, check it out.

I didn't know what this dish was called whether it's in English or Italian until I was flipping through my December issue of Fine Cooking and saw a dish I make regularly on weeknights.  I started making this when I was living on my own because I pretty much always had the ingredients on hand and it was quick. 

Ingredients:

2 Tbs of extra virgin olive oil
4 Large cloves of garlic, minced
3 oil-packed anchovy fillets, finely chopped (optional)
1 Tsp of Crushed red pepper flakes
1 jar of homemade or store bought tomato sauce or a can of crushed tomatoes
Spaghetti
1/2 Cup of pitted brine-cured black Kalamata olives, coarsely chopped
2 Tbs of capers, rinsed and drained
1 Tbs of fresh oregano or 1/2 Tbs of dried
Freshly ground pepper

Boil water for pasta.

Heat 1 Tbs of olive oil with garlic in a large sauce pan over medium heat.  Cook, stirring frequently for about 2 minutes and add the anchovy fillets and red pepper flakes.  Cook until garlic is golden.    Stir in tomato sauce.  Increase the heat to medium high, bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer, stir occasionally and cook for about 10 minutes.  Add the olives, capers, and oregano and continue to stir.  Cook for another 2 minutes.  Stir in remaining 1 Tbs of olive oil and serve.