Which Italian pasta dish combines spaghetti, tomatoes, capers, olives, anchovies, garlic, and chili?

Which Italian pasta dish combines spaghetti, tomatoes, capers, olives, anchovies, garlic and chili? Spaghetti alla puttanesca is the answer.

Spaghetti alla puttanesca is a strongly flavored pasta dish built from tomatoes, olives, capers, anchovies, garlic, peperoncino and olive oil. The ingredients create a sauce that is salty, fragrant, spicy and intensely savory. It is traditionally served with spaghetti, though penne, bucatini, linguine and vermicelli are also used.

The dish is associated with Naples and Campania and is generally described as a mid-20th-century creation. Its name derives from puttana, an Italian word meaning “prostitute,” but the origin story is disputed. One popular tale connects it with quick cooking in brothels; another explanation treats the name as a colorful expression for throwing whatever was available in the pantry into a pan.

Recipes vary by region. Neapolitan versions may omit anchovies, while versions popular in Lazio commonly include them. Similar sauces existed earlier: a related recipe appeared in Ippolito Cavalcanti’s 1844 cookbook, but the modern name became established in the 1960s.