Another meat free meal

I’ve written a lot about finding meat alternatives, as I did on Sunday. But I’ve also written about using alternatives that don’t require alternatives—such as lentils. I’ve now added a new recipe.

Last night I made pasta with puttanesca sauce. It’s insanely simple: Tomatoes, onion, garlic, black olives, and capers (many recipes, not mine, call for anchovies, but I wouldn’t use that for all sorts of reasons, not the least is that they’re icky, but especially because of the extremely high salt content). The recipe I used specifically called for kalamata olives, which, while associated more with Greek food, are sure to be genuine, and not green olives that have been dyed black. However, they have to be pitted, and I found out that’s not easy to do. Maybe I should look into a pitting gadget.

My recipe called for a deseeded chilli, and another recipe I saw later called for red pepper flakes (which my mother used in her spaghetti sauce). I used neither because I don’t like heat. The recipe also called for it to be served on spaghetti, but really any type of pasta would work, as long as it can hold sauce. Actually, I read a claim that it could be used as a sauce on fish or even beans, too (cannellini beans would work well). For having so few ingredients, the sauce “gripped” the pasta really well, so it’d grip other things, too, I think. The sauce was also completely vegan, but there was little protein in it (which is why the fish or bean idea intrigues me), so it’s quite different from the sauce with lentils I used to make.

I’ve heard of puttanesca sauce for years, but never had it. I wanted to have it just because the name is derived from the Italian word for prostitute, puttana. One legend suggests it was created by prostitutes who wanted something quick and easy to make to eat in the time between clients. Others suggest that Italians used puttana as a general purpose word, akin to English’s shit, as if whoever first made it said they “just threw some shit together”, or whatever. In either case, it’s a colourful name.

Last night’s recipe was a success, and I’ll add it to the list of meatless dishes to make. This one also gets around at least some of the issues with extensive processing, sodium levels, and carbon footprint that meat substitutes currently have. It’s also nice to have a dish that I can make at any time because I can always have the ingredients on hand. That’s a bonus.

It’s always nice to have options.