Legend has it that Pasta Puttanesca was the dish of choice by Italian ladies of the night. It certainly is a very  satisfying dish for anyone who has worked up an appetite. I thought I'd spice up our midweek pasta  and make my own version of puttanesca.  I'm not quite sure how authentic this is and always feel a bit of a fraud  when conjuring up Italian dishes without a drop of Italian blood running in my veins. Happily everyone seemed to like this, even the picky eater which was surprising, I thought she might be put off by the anchovies but they seemed to melt into the sauce leaving a delicious saltiness.

Pasta Puttanesca.

Olive oil

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon capers

3 anchovies, chopped

A handful of black olives, roughly chopped

1, 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes

Fresh basil

1 splash of heavy cream (optional)

Parmesan cheese (freshly grated)

1 packet of spaghetti

Bring a large pan of water to the boil.  Cook the spaghetti according to the package directions.

While the spaghetti is cooking start on the puttanesca sauce.  Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan, add the finely chopped onion, sprinkle with salt to prevent it burning and saute on low for about 6-8 minutes.

Add the garlic, capers, anchovies and olives and stir well, cook for another minute or two.  Add a good grinding of black pepper.

Add the can of crushed tomatoes, combine, bring to the boil then turn down to a simmer.  Add a handful of the fresh basil and cook for 5-6 minutes.

When the spaghetti is cooked, strain, reserving a cup of the cooking water to add to the spaghetti if it becomes too dry.

Add a splash of the cream to the puttanesca sauce and a tablespoon of grated parmesan cheese, stir.

Pour over the spaghetti and combine well. If the sauce seems dry add a little of the pasta cooking water.  Add more fresh basil, black pepper and parmesan if desired.