Surely spaghetti alla puttanesca is also a favourite with the savoury condiment that surrounds it: peeled tomatoes, Gaeta olives, capers and anchovy fillets give these spaghetti a unique taste. But it is also the unusual name of the recipe that makes it even more delicious and arouses curiosity about its origins, disputed between Lazio and Campania. The spiciest and most imaginative stories want them born in the rooms of closed houses, as a very quick dish to prepare with a few simple ingredients. Others would trace it back to the culinary fantasies of Antonio De Curtis, aka Totò. Still others trace back the first spaghetti sforchettata alla puttanesca in Ischia in the famous local Rangio Fellone around the ’50s. The term "alla puttanesca" it would indicate just this improvised, easy and very quick preparation. Since then it seems that the dish has become part of the menu of the restaurant and has spread beyond the island as one of the dishes of the Italian culinary tradition.
