Slutty Courgetti – Puttanesca

Spaghetti alla puttanesca is an old Italian recipe translated as “spaghetti in the style of a prostitute” – hence the ‘slutty’ name hehe… People argue about where the name came from; the most common explanation is that it was popularised by prostitutes making it for their clients as a midnight snack, as all of the ingredients were common, cheap pantry staples. Before now Puttanesca was a regular dish on our weekly menu, sometimes even twice a week, always served with a huge helping of carb filled (although gluten free pasta) – not ideal for a healthy diet and definitely stalled the weight loss. So the first thing I wanted to do with the courgetti was to make this dish… It was a huge success, I would totally recommend it, or maybe a sundried tomato pesto would be a great speedy alternative. I Add my own twist to this classic dish by adding sundried tomatoes and toasted pine nuts and I didn’t use anchovies in this recipe, so it is vegan friendly, but you can add them if you wish.

The Artful FoodieThe ArtfulFoodie

Ingredients:

• 3 courgettes (zucchini)
• 2 cloves garlic
• handful capers
• handful pitted black olives
• 1 hot chilli
• 1 cup tomato passata
• 4 sundried or dehydrated tomatoes
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Squirt of tomato puree
• Fresh basil
• Pine nuts

Instructions:

• Chop the garlic, sundried tomatoes and chilli and gently cook in some olive oil until the garlic is just turning golden. Add the tomatoes/passata and capers to the pan with a squeeze of tomato puree and half a cup of water. Leave to reduce for 8/10 minutes, adding more water if it starts looking dry.
• Roughly chop the olives and a handful of basil and add them to the pan and turn to the lowest heat. Using your spiraliser create your courgetti. Combine the courgetti with the sauce and let it soften for a minute or so and make sure it is well coated with the sauce (it can release liquid, if so I make a well in the centre and add a blob of tomato puree and mix it in)… serve immediately topped with fresh basil, pine nuts that have been toasted in a dry pan and an optional grating of parmesan or nutritional yeast!