Week 11: Spaghetti Puttanesca

The Recipe:
250-300gr spaghetti
1 tbsp olive oil
150gr bacon
2 ripe tomatoes
1 bell pepper
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
A couple of handfuls of fresh lettuce (the recipe called for spinach, I didn't have any, so I used a mix of lettuce and ricola instead - lovely!)
2 tbsp fresh basil
250gr ricotta cheese (or cottage cheese if you can't find ricotta)
Salt and pepper
1 can (14oz) chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato purée (can be omitted)
1 tsp sugar (can be omitted)
Chili according to taste

Boil the pasta according to the package but take it off one minute before time. Drain and set aside.

Cut crosses over the stem of the tomatoes and pour boiling water over them. Let them sit in boiling water for a couple of minutes. This will allow the skin to loosen, and you should be able to peel them without problems.

Finely chop bacon, onion and garlic. Cook in olive oil until the onions are done. This will take 3-5 minutes depending on how much bite you like in your onions.
Chop peeled tomatoes, bell pepper and spinach. Add to the pan and cook until done. That will take another 2-3 minutes.
Take the pan off the heat and add ricotta cheese, basil and salt and pepper according to taste.

Mix spaghetti into the pan and transfer it to an ovenproof dish. Turn in canned tomatoes, tomato puree and sugar. Bake at 180*C for 10 minutes or until it's heated through.

The Verdict
Very, very tasty! It would probably have been even better if I'd added more lettuce actually. I like greenery in my pasta :) Definitely a recipe that'll go into the cookbook to be reused on a later date.

Oh, the recipe called for anchovies instead of bacon. I do NOT like anchovies, but thought this a very fitting (and tasty!) substitute.