My Own Puttanesca Sauce

This is another one of those "no rules" recipes. The following is pretty much my standard method, but if I don't have one of the things I mention here, I substitute or do without. And, of course, this is how I make it for a single serving.

First, saute a minced scallion or onion (I've started using scallions because as a "cook for one", I've discovered they're a blessing - you don't have leftover raw onion smelling up the fridge!) in a nice amount of olive oil. Then, if you have it, add a chopped mushroom and some minced garlic. Toss in about half (see note below)  of a zucchini and a yellow squash chopped up and let that cook a bit. Add some chopped up green and/or black olives and then add a can of tomato sauce and a slosh of marsala or red wine, a little salt and pepper to taste and let it simmer together for a bit and thicken up a little. And that's basically it.

However...that's just one way...

I've sometimes added a few capers or an anchovy (they disappear but add a real richness) but if doing that go easy on the olives.  One time I added an anchovy , and some capers, and the olives and it was definitely too salty even for me and I love salty!

I also added some chopped up chicken one of the times I bought a rotisserie chicken.  I didn't add it to the other stuff I was cooking - just waited til everything was done and then put in probably about half of a breast chopped up.  That time, rather than serving it as a sauce on spaghetti, I mixed it in with some penne pasta and baked it as a casserole.  That made enough for two single serving casseroles.  So I baked the first one with some parmesan on top for about 20 minutes and that was fine. When I cooked the second casserole, I tore up some thin-sliced prosciutto I had and sprinkled it on top.  I put it in the oven til it was heated through and then turned the broiler on for about 5 minutes to crisp up the prosciutto.  Mama mia, it was good!!

So, you see that this is one you can just basically play with - use what you have, add whatever you like (maybe broccoli or peas or cauliflower or ??? instead of zuchini and yellow squash), and make it a little different every time.

NOTE:  After I posted this, I was going to make some sauce using the zucchini and yellow squash and some mushrooms.  I decided rather than throwing out the other halves of the squashes, I would chop it all up, use more mushrooms than normal and save half of that sauted mix to use again another time.  I didn't end up using the other half in another batch of sauce (although you could), but I did use it as a sort of "roasted" veggie topping for my lunch sandwich and that was really a nice change for lunch.  So, yet another good thing to do with a "play it by ear" recipe. :)

Buon appetito!