Pasta Puttanesca

I LOVE pasta. My husband hates pasta (well, spaghetti) so we don't have it all that often. But last night I was really wanting some pasta with lots of veggies. I kept thinking of Count Olaf in Series of Unfortunate Events when he orders the children to make dinner for him and his guests.  It goes down something like this....

Count Olaf: Why aren't you orphans in the kitchen preparing dinner?
Violet Baudelaire: Dinner?
Count Olaf: It's the French word for the evening meal. 


So they scrounge around in a ill prepped kitchen that looks like it hasn't been uses in a hundred years and find some old pasta noodles in a drawer. 


Violet Baudelaire: Dinner is served. Puttanesca.
Count Olaf: What did you call me?
Klaus Baudelaire: It's pasta... Pasta Puttanesca.
Count Olaf: Where's the roast beef?
Klaus Baudelaire: Roast beef?
Count Olaf: Beef, yes. Roast beef. It's the Swedish term for beef that is roasted!

This movie slays me.  No really.  Memorize it.  Your life will be all the better for it.

Anyway, when Count Olaf says, "What did you call me?" referring to the Puttanesca term. It's because the term "Puttanesca" is derogatory. And in this case, super funny. Here's why...

*Pasta Puttanesca: A Delicious Dish with a Somewhat Shady Past (bless her heart)

Pasta Puttanesca may have its roots in the world's oldest profession, and if so, those ladies of the evening sure knew how to cook! No other dish in the culinary world has such an enticing and risque origin as does Pasta Puttanesca. It originated in Naples, Italy, and the word, puttanesca, translates to "in the style of the whore" or "whore's pasta".  Shady or not, it does make a delicious family meal!

Here is how I made mine.

16 oz. cheese tortellini

1 jar Dave's Gourmet Butternut Squash pasta sauce

1 jar Tomato Bruschetta 

Kalamata olives sliced for topping ( I'm very generous with these because I love them!)

1 lb. Chorizo (spicy) sausage

1 lb. Ground Turkey

1 lb. Ground Beef 

spices and salt to taste

cut to bite size (large chunks)

2 zucchini 

1 large onion

1 large green pepper

6 mini yellow peppers

6 large mushrooms

1 can artichoke hearts

Mix altogether and top with fresh basil, kalamata olives, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. 

It's so delicious that Dave gave it a raving revue.  Which is good because it makes a lot and so we are having it as leftovers tonight!

* china: Ralph Lauren Mandarin Blue (thanks to HomeGoods)