All the taste of the southern culture is into this pasta sauce. Even the anchovy fillets, just for lovers, not a must for the recipes, are here to point how close to our table is the Mediterranean Sea.
Olives, peppers, garlic, extra virgin olive oil...Gosh! I can hear the Mandolino.....

Serves 4
Ingredients:

- 1 large can of peeled Roma tomatoes ( ar. 1,8 lb) or 3 lb of fresh roma tomato*
- 1 large sweet red onion
- 1 large clove of garlic
- chilli pepper (medium hot)
- 3 Tbs of capers**
- 20 green olives (not the large lives for cocktails)
- 20 black olives
- 3 - 4 anchovy fillets (just if you like them. You can substitute them with a good quality Tuna fish fillet. 2 small fillets would be enough)
- 1/2 cup of chopped parsley***
- 1/2 cup of basil*
- 1 flat tsp or raw sugar and no salt (since ingredients are already salted)
- 4 Tbs of extra virgin olive oil + 2Tbs (optional) on top, when pasta has been sautéed into the pan with the sauce

Suggested pasta : spaghetti, penne or other short pasta. No egg pasta with this sauce.

How to proceed:
1) Prepare your tomatoes.
If you are using fresh tomatoes, put on the stove a deep small pot and when the water boils, through in the tomatoes, 2-3 per time. Leave 1 minute and then take them out with a spoon. Put on a cutting board, cut in half, remove the skin (coming off at once, very easily) and make fillets out of them.
If you are using caned tomatoes, open cane, make fillets and put in a bowl with their juice, ready to use.

2) Into a frying pan put the olive oil and the anchovy fillets that you have reduced into a paste with you knife. Just if you like them, otherwise start from next step. Put on stove, low flame, and wait until they melt.

3) Press the clove of garlic and dice fine the onion. Put on the pan with the extra virgin olive oil (and the anchovies in case you are using them).
Add chilli pepper. Cook down slowly until the onions are translucent.

4) De-pit the olives**** (you can leave few both black and green whole...for the eye). Add capers and with a knife chop them fine. If you prefer you can use a food processor. Add to the ingredients in the pan and cook everything until the onions are golden.

5) Add the tomatoes, the raw sugar, the parsley and basil. If you like you can leave 1Tbs of herbs to garnish the dish, when done.

6) Cook down until reduced properly*****

7) Cook your pasta in lightly salted boiling water. When very al dente, roughly drain it and through on the pan with the sauce. In case you have decided not to use the anchovies, but the tuna fish, you can make flakes out of the fillets and add to the pasta now. Sauté and finish to cook for a minute with the sauce. Garnish with the remaining herbs and serve.

Buon Appetito!

*Tips:
* consider that when fresh tomatoes are not really nice and mature it is better to use caned tomatoes. The amount of fresh tomatoes really depends by the kind of tomato (more juicy, more firm..)

** when you use capers, use always the one preserved in salt (rinse well before using) or salt and water. The one preserved in vinaigrette have a strong sour taste that will affect your dish.

*** Herbs do not like the effect of the blade and oxidation, so chop them just before using them

**** the quality of olives with the pit is generally better then the one de-pitted.
Better to buy them with pit and remove it when needed.

***** A good tomato sauce is cooked when, passing your wood spoon the sauce stay separate


Wine combination: Steve's suggestions
A fresh verdicchio would be great with this.