This is a delicious, easy, savory dish.  It is one of my favorite dishes to make when I haven’t been to the grocery in awhile and am short on fresh produce.  All of the items are usually in my pantry including the canned tomatoes.  Note that this recipe makes 2-3 servings (this is not one that my kids love…the flavors are just a little too much!).

Puttanesca Pasta (Serves 2)

Ingredients:

1 lb whole wheat thin spaghetti or angel hair

4-6 slices bacon, cooked and chopped

1 can fire roasted tomatoes with garlic (you could use fresh roma tomatoes instead if you have them)

12 kalamata olives, quartered

1/2 tsp capers

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp minced garlic (bottled or fresh)

salt and pepper

feta or parmasean cheese

fresh basil

Directions:

Cook the bacon in a skillet until cooked through (appx 5 min per side on med-high heat).  Remove bacon to cool, chop and set aside).  Discard some but not all of the bacon grease.  To bacon pan, add tomatoes (do not drain), kalamata olives, capers, garlic, and red pepper flakes (crumble in between your fingers to bring out the heat). Simmer on medium for 10-15 minutes or until sauce cooks down a bit.  Add bacon into the tomato mixture just before serving.  Serve over bed of thin spaghetti or angel hair.  Top with crumbled feta or shredded parmasean and chopped fresh basil.  The sweet basil flavor is a great complement to the savory. smokey sauce so don’t be shy with it.