Made with capers, anchovies, round sweet tomatoes typical of Naples’ Bay, black olives, chilli pepper and garlic, the recipe of this lewdly named dish was a creation of the 1950s dolce vita summer vibe.

It was invented on the picturesque, volcanic island of Ischia – known for its fishing tradition and its thermal baths – just off Naples’ coast, by an eclectic architect Sandro Petti, who was running then-popular restaurant Rangio Fellone, a hotspot luring VIPs, actors, royals and beautiful ladies in search of romance.

“As with all great dishes of the Italian culinary tradition, Puttanesca was the product of last-minute creativity and improvisation, no planning,” says Michelin-starred chef Pasquale Palamaro, a born-and-bred Ischia islander who cooks sublime recipes at the 5-star hotel Regina Isabella’s deluxe restaurant Indaco.

“That’s what makes Neapolitans great inventors. The dish is made with basic, humble ingredients present in any island household.”

It all happened one late evening when a bunch of starving clients walked into the Rangio Fellone for a quick spaghetti dish – yes, it’s a fad in Italy having pasta at midnight after dinner, ice cream and liqueurs. But given it was really late and all the food was finished, Petti found himself in an awkward position.

He told the clients he had nothing to cook but they insisted, in the typical loud Neapolitan way, and said “just cook us any puttanata, as long as we eat”.

So what does puttanata mean … and how did we go from that to puttanesca?

“Puttanata in southern Italian dialects isn’t really a bad word, it is slang and colloquial and is used either to mean a ‘big mess’ or ‘whatever’,” says Italian linguistics expert Francesca Rossi.

In Petti’s case the customers were just asking him to come up with anything edible to satiate their rumbling stomachs, Palamaro says.

So Petti went into his kitchen and grabbed what was left from the soirée: local anchovies, little round black savoury olives from the mainland town of Gaeta, located between Rome and Naples, Ischia’s locally grown capers and of course spaghetti, which is never missing.

The puttanata thus turned out to be a success and became a proper dish. Petti was thrilled and decided to include it on the restaurant menu, but as he was a bit afraid of using such a shocking name, he opted for the euphemism “spaghetti alla bella donna” – aka “prepared in the style of a beautiful woman”.

It wasn’t until later, when puttanesca became popular by word of mouth, that he decided to go with the flow and stick with the tongue-in-cheek name.

According to Palamaro the whorish element in the name spaghetti alla puttanesca is minimal, although still there in a way.

“Let’s not be [too] kinky. It’s not that prostitutes were actually among his clients or hung out at the restaurant, but Petti was a playboy and liked the company of many gorgeous ladies, so their attractive attire might have inspired him,” he says.

The bright green, red and black dresses of elegant, tanned women having fun during Ischia’s dolce vita golden days were part of the island’s flashy nightlife fit, for real party animals.

Thus, a legendary dish was born and has now undergone decades of experimentation, gaining popularity worldwide.

“Spaghetti alla puttanesca has evolved over time and spread from the isle of Ischia mainly to the region of Campania and also Latium in central Italy,” Palamaro says.

“Yet despite the simple and humble ingredients it’s a dish with an extremely strong taste and identity that not everyone can appreciate, especially if non-Italian.

“It’s not just mere provocation: you need a fine palate to fully savour it. Russian diners, used to pungent flavours, are [among] those most appreciative of it.”

In the elegant kitchens of hotel Regina Isabella, Palamaro has given puttanesca his own personal, modern gourmet twist, but without tweaking its distinctive name.

He prepares a buttery silvery cream of fresh anchovies to add to the baked round ciliegini cherry tomatoes and then sprinkles the thick artisan Gragnano spaghetti with powdered sugar and dried basil that increases the sweetness.

Palamaro occasionally opts for handmade thick spaghetti alla chitarra (guitar) cut on a frame with a series of parallel wires crossing it, which resembles a guitar – hence the name.

Dish variants include the use of different types of spaghetti, either thicker, curlier or thinner, while chilli peppers and anchovies can be left out because of their pungent taste.

When Ischia holds the annual Global Film and Music Fest, which attracts international actors and filmmakers – and this year was held from July 14 to 21 – Hollywood stars have been known to rush to taste puttanesca.

“Last time I recall Nicholas Cage came right up and asked for the dish, he knew exactly what he wanted and what it was,” Palamaro says.

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