Dear Ari -- my version of PUTTANESCA, developed over recent years from Dov's description of something he
had had in Boston and from similar recipes here and there. The peppers make it a near relative of
PEPERONATA. Whatever it is, it has Liz's seal of approval:
 
   1-2 lbs tomatoes, skinned if you're up to it (45 or so seconds in boiling water, let cool a little,
and remove skin), but it's okay to use them in their natural state (the sauce is sweeter, of course, if
skinned) and then quartered
   olive oil
   2 or more chopped medium-large onions
   3-4 or more cloves of garlic, sliced
   1-2 each red, green and yellow peppers
   2 bay leaves
   (you can also add touches of thyme, oregano and basil, but stick with just the bay leaves the first
time out)
   20 +/- pitted black olives, sliced
   black pepper freshly ground
   anchovy paste to taste
   (crushed red pepper flakes)
   capers
    
   Cook garlic and onions in olive oil till onions are translucent, but not brown
   Add tomatoes and cook on medium about five minutes
   Add anchovy paste and black pepper (The anchovies may be where you're getting the saltiness from--the
paste isn't salty) I like the idea of your crushed red pepper, so, new development--
   crushed red pepper flakes to taste
   Add peppers and bay leaves and cook another five minutes (or more), mixing every couple of minutes.
The peppers should be cooked, but not limp, and retain full color.
   Add olives
 
   The sauce isn't thin and it's not thick, either. Unlike los puttas, it's not fast and that easy to
make. But it's rewarding.
   Your recipes are having a wider distribution in Peterborough than The Ledger and Transcript combined.
Well, they've gone to four or five people and I'm going to forward them to Karen and Edith Milton.
 
Love,
Dad