One of my favorite styles of cooking is Italian. Keep it simple stupid, otherwise known as KISS. Big fan! I’ve been making this dish for years and is always great. It comes in clutch when you really want to order take out, but have to resist the urge. Or when you want to make dinner, but don’t have anything fresh residing in your fridge. The recipe calls for grape or cherry tomatoes, but you can use canned, no problem.
Ahh, the stigma of canned tuna. Most think that the only way to use tuna is to plop it between two slices of bread. While I do enjoy a tuna sammich or melt, I have to disagree with that sentiment. If you pay .89 for a can of tuna, it probably won’t taste that great, unless you dump a bottle of mayo on it. Eek, I don’t want to put my cardiologist on speed dial; wait, I don’t have one, phew. 89 cent tuna is not good on it’s own but we need something that is. Welcome my friend Italian tuna in olive oil. Some brands that I really like are Cento and Pastene. $2-$3 but worth it. Now that I have spread awful lies about cheap tuna, I’m going to tell you it will work in this recipe, if you have to. That could be another lie since I’ve never tried with lame tuna.
I usually drain the tuna and then add a few drops of Worcestershire sauce in to marinate for a couple minutes. I know, it’s weird, and I’m sure a lot of people would say to use anchovies instead. Yeah, that will come out great, but this is the way I like it. Confession: sometimes I use anchovies instead. Sorry, I’m confusing.
Lots of my recipes, if not all have some component of spiciness to them and some are optional. This one is not. The heat is going to tie everything together. I have a giant jar of fermented habanero peppers (very easy to make, try it) that add a ton of flavor but crushed red pepper or fresh chiles work just fine. If you don’t like the heat, of course skip it.
1 Serving
Recipe:
2oz Spaghetti or Linguini you can use another kind if that’s all you have
1 Can Italian Tuna in Olive Oil Mostly Drained
½ Pint Grape/Cherry Tomatoes Cut in Half
1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Italian Parsley
1 Teaspoon Garlic
½ Teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
⅛ Teaspoon Fermented Habanero Pepper or ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper or 1 minced chile , adjust to the level of heat you want
Drain the olive oil and add chop it slightly in the can. Add the Worcestershire sauce over top and marinate for a few minutes. Get the pasta water started while you make the sauce. By the time the pasta is done, so will the sauce. Always cook pasta 1 minute under so you can finish cooking in the sauce. Add olive oil to the pan and lightly cook garlic until fragrant. Add tomatoes to the pan cook for a minute.
Stir that around, and when the pasta has 2 minutes remaining add the tuna. Bust up the tuna a bit, you don’t want to cook, just heat it up.
Hit the sauce with salt, pepper and parsley. Drain pasta and add it to the pan. Cook in the pan until desired doneness is reached. Grab a napkin and dig in.
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