I’ve been binge watching an Italian cooking YouTube channel, subtitles of course, sadly I cannot speak Italian, called @italiasquisita which compares classic versus modern Italian recipes, shows tricks and tips, and lots of BTS in restaurant kitchens with chefs cooking wonderful meals and showing you along the way.
Recently I saw the ‘Pasta Col Tonno’ (tuna pasta) episode with Chef Gianfranco Pascucci. He made both an original and a gourmet version.
Tuna pasta was one of the first meals I taught my daughter to make for herself when she was probably 8 years old - the same one my flatmate showed me when I was 21. It is very basic - literally tomato paste, cream, tuna and pasta. I’m sure everyone has a quick and easy version right? But last night, inspired by the show, I thought I’d improve on it.
Let me preface this recipe by saying I’m not a chef but a home cook. I used what I had in the house, I did’t follow a recipe but tried to remember tips from Chef Gianfranco. My point is you can just keep improvising and improving. It’s likely my next one will be a bit different again. But anyway, this was delicious and I thought I’d share.
Here’s what I did for two people:
Ingredients:
3 tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Fresh Basil
1 jar Sirena tuna fillets, drained and gently flaked (these do cost more than tinned but definitely worth it for this dish - but tinned would work also)
1/4 red onion, finely chopped
Approx 8cm stick celery, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, smashed but left whole1/4 tsp chilli flakes (optional)
2 tbs tomato paste
3 large fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped (or 400gm tin chopped tomatoes)
1/4 cup full cream (optional)
*retained pasta water
Packet spaghetti or linguini - enough for 2
Salt and pepper
Fine grated Pecorino to serve (optional)
Method:
Pour 2 tbs olive oil in a skillet (large enough to hold both the sauce and the pasta) and warm on a gentle heat. Add onion, celery and the garlic clove. Sauté until softened.
Stir in tomato paste and chilli flakes, cook for 2 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes (tinned or fresh) and 2-3 torn basil leaves. Cook gently, stirring regularly. If it looks dry add a tablespoon or two of water and keep heat low. Cook for around 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta for around 5 minutes
At this point remove the garlic clove from the sauce and discard. Stir in the cream and then transfer pasta directly to the sauce using tongs, along with approx 1/4 cup of pasta water. Your pasta won’t be cooked through but it will finish off in the sauce. Reserve half cup of pasta water.
Increase heat slightly and toss the pasta around in the sauce to coat and to finish cooking. This should take around 8 minutes, but keep testing your pasta - you’ll know when it’s cooked - adding more pasta water if the sauce is looking too thick.
Serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a grating of Pecorino and extra ground pepper.
