Spicy tomato sauce

The Italian "alla puttanesca" sauce refers to ladies of the night. According to foodlore, the classic sauce (tomatoes, capers, anchovies, garlic, and crushed red peppers) is either what the women ate after work, or the salty, spicy, appealing mixture is named for the women themselves. At Artu on the North End's Prince Street (617-227-9023) or on Beacon Hill (617-742-4336), owner Nancy Frattaroli says that she's "not sure of the folklore," but she has had the classic dish on the menu for years and everybody loves it.

Frattaroli grew up eating her mother's home cooking in East Boston. "I love winter food best," she says. "The great thing about puttanesca sauce is that all the ingredients are either dried or come out of a jar. It's perfect for winter because it doesn't depend on fresh produce." At home, Frattaroli makes the sauce on weeknights and tosses it with plenty of grated pecorino or Parmesan cheese.

To make the sauce, Artu chef Christian Rosati, 32, heats olive oil with garlic. When the oil starts to shimmer, he throws in a handful of pitted kalamata olives, an anchovy, and rinsed salt-packed capers, then salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper. He adds whole canned Italian tomatoes -- "these tomatoes are as sweet as sweet can be, you can eat them right out of the can," says the chef -- and lets the sauce simmer and reduce a bit. He finishes the mixture with chopped fresh basil and stirs cooked penne in the sauce for just a minute before spooning it into bowls and garnishing with cheese.

"I don't really like capers or anchovies," says the chef, "but when it all comes together like this I love it. Actually I think this dish is off the roof. It's what all of us in the kitchen recommend." -- JONATHAN LEVITT