Pasta puttanesca

Pasta puttanesca is one of my old stand-bys. It can be made completely from canned ingredients, meaning I can whip it together at a moment's notice (since I always have these particular ingredients on hand). It's cheap, it's tasty, it has a world of flavor that pre-made sauces just can't touch, even if you are making this sauce from canned ingredients.

several swirls of olive oil
<BR1 oil
1 2oz can anchovy fillets, undrained
4 peeled garlic cloves
<BR4 cloves
1 35oz can tomatoes, drained (or 2 16oz cans whole tomatoes, drained)
1 2 1/2 oz jar capers, drained
1/2 c chopped black olives

Place the first three ingredients in a saucepan, and mash to form a paste. Add the rest, simmer medium-low for 30 minutes to one hour. Serve over any kind of pasta (I like linguine or penne with this). Top with plenty of freshly grated parmesan.

Don't let the anchovies throw you. They've gotten a bad rap, but they add a great depth to any sauce. There's no fishy taste at all, just a wonderfully complex umami.

Cost: a tin of anchovy fillets typically runs about $1.50, a small jar of capers maybe $2.50, a can of black olives $1. I buy canned tomatoes in bulk at Sam's for about $0.57 per can...so maybe $7 total for the sauce, and another dollar for the pasta, depending on what kind you use. Depending on your sauce/pasta ratio, this will feed at least four hungry adults for dinner.

I do have cheaper spaghetti sauces, which I'll cover. But this is a great dish to make in the dead of winter--filling, savory, and made entirely from the back of the cabinet.