Pasta Puttanesca (Italian Pasta alla Puttanesca) is a traditional Italian pasta dish made with a sauce named sugo alla puttanesca. The nameThe name originated in Naples after the local prostitutes, Pasta alla Puttanesca meaning "Pasta in the way a whore would make it". The reason why the dish gained such a name is debated. One possibility is that the name is a reference to the sauce's hot, spicy flavour and pungent smell. Another is that the dish was offered to prospective customers at a low price to entice them into a brothel. According to chef Jeff Smith of the Frugal Gourmet, its name came from the fact that it was a quick, cheap meal that prostitutes could prepare between customers.A more thorough story about this dish comes from Diane Seed in her book, Top 100 Pasta Sauces (p. 20) ISBN 0-89815-232-1. She says: IngredientsThe ingredients for sugo alla puttanesca tend to be very easy to find, and are typically Mediterranean. Extra-virgin olive oil (with butter, if preferred) is put in a frying pan. Then, finely chopped cloves of garlic (sometimes with onions) are added, followed by peperoncino (dried hot peppers) and anchovy fillets mashed with a fork. Anchovies are usually not sautéed for a long time, to avoid a strong "fishy" taste. Tuna and mushrooms may also be added for variety to the soffritto. Tomatoes are poured in, and when the sauce comes to the boiling point, chopped capers (in vinegar) and stoned black olives will be added. Then the sauce will be reduced over fierce heat. As a final touch, chopped parsley and fresh basil leaves are occasionally included.Recipes may differ according to preferences; sugo alla puttanesca must be a little salty (from salted anchovies and olives), spicy (from hot red peppers) and quite fragrant (with large amounts of garlic). Traditionally, the sauce is served with spaghetti (spaghetti alla puttanesca), although it may also be used with other dry pasta types like bucatini and vermicelli. The sauce is mixed with cooked pasta and minced parsley is sprinkled over the dish on the plate.