pasta puttanesca

Hungry yet?

This is our version of pasta puttanesca, a dish for those with adventurous palates and no fear of eating well. There are various stories about where the name and the dish came from — they’re probably all a bit of a lie. And I don’t really care. All I know is that every bite of this dish fills my mouth with rich tastes. This isn’t a dish for the faint of heart. This is a dinner meant to be shared with people who love to eat with gusto and laugh loudly instead of snickering behind their hands. This is a good meal.

Would you like to make this? With our recipe, gluten-free pasta, and the best ingredients we can find to make this meal the best it can be?

Last week, when I put up this post about our partnership with Lost Crates, I received quite a few questions. And, I’ll have to admit, I wrote that piece quickly, at 6:30 in the morning, my fingers racing across the keyboard before the kiddo woke up. So I might have been a little vague, a little rushed. Mostly, I didn’t have a photograph of what you would be getting. So I want to tell you more today.

We paired with Lost Crates because we want to bring you good food. A number of people asked me why the shipments weren’t going to be filled with gluten-free bread, cookies, and brownies. Goodness, folks, you can find those in nearly every grocery store these days! As much as we loved baked goods — and there will be boxes some months that will help you bake — Danny and I are interested in great food. Great food.

Some folks complained that these were not allergy-free boxes. That’s right. We’re putting together the best collection of gluten-free food we can for you. If you have multiple food allergies, we may not be able to meet your needs. But if you have to be gluten-free, or you just love great food, these boxes are for you.

Here’s what you’ll find in September’s box:

* Jovial gluten-free caserecce pasta. This is our favorite gluten-free pasta in the world, bar none. And this particular shape, caserecce, might be our favorite pasta shape. Yes, puttanesca is made traditionally with spaghetti. But since gluten-free pasta isn’t traditional, why not mix it up? And this shape works particularly well with chunky sauces.

* Spanish oil-packed anchovies. Since last week, I’ve heard from a number of you, disappointed we would put anchovies in this box. Folks, don’t be afraid of the anchovy. (Our friend Michael Procopio just wrote a great post about this.) Sure, if you’ve only had them on cheap American pizza, you might be horrified. And most inexpensive anchovies in a tin are overly salty, a bit metallic tasting. But these anchovies are the best cured anchovies you can buy. They might be a revelation. And you simply can’t make pasta puttanesca without them.

* Capers. Capers are salty, briny bits of goodness. Without them, there would be no pasta puttanesca.

* Our favorite new cheese grater. If you’re like us, you love our kitchen. And like us, you may have a smallish kitchen, with not enough storage room. This cheese grater folds up easily, so you can slide it in a drawer. (Grated Pecorino Romano might not be traditional with pasta puttanesca, but we always use it.)

* Our recipe for pasta puttanesca. Plus, we’ll give you some of our favorite suggestions of what else to do with the pasta, anchovies, capers, and grated cheese. And, we’ll throw in a few wine pairing suggestions as well.

We certainly can’t please everyone. But if this appeals to you — and the idea of receiving boxes every month with ingredients and meals like this — we’d love to see you over at Lost Crates.