My version. I grew up with this dish and started making it from memory in adulthood. I use a lot of tuna to make it high in protein as I need lots of protein and not so many carbs myself.
The “raw” ingredients. This is one of the very few things I make that has a lot of canned and boxed food.
Finished product in a real pasta bowl from Italy that I grew up with in my home. It’s a bit large for the quantity of pasta I made but it’s pretty!
So the ingredients:
1 large red onion diced
Garlic to taste (I go with pretty much a whole bulb—this is of course according to taste)
Large bunch of parsley chopped up
Pesto–that’s the funny looking green thing next to the bowl of tuna—it’s about a quarter cup of frozen pesto—I made it from last years crop of basil from our garden. If you’re using fresh basil, which would be better, also use a large bunch.
Anchovies in olive oil—the whole can chopped up fine. Use the olive oil when you cook your onion and garlic…it’s yummy.
Olive oil–an additional tbls or so
Capers (3 heaping tbls)
Kalamata Olive tapenade (3 heaping tbls)— I used this because I didn’t have fresh whole olives. Whole pitted olives cut into thirds are better!! I like chewing on those bits of olives and really tasting them. In this sauce the tapenade disappeared into the sauce and while it still tasted really good, it would’ve been better with a high quality black olive chunks. My favorite are oil and salt cured black olives. They have a very sharp distinct flavor and not everyone likes them. The tapenade, though, is also very easy. No pitting and cutting of olives so it’s convenient.
28 ounces crushed tomatoes
2 cans tuna fish
I used 8 oz of Quinoa Spaghetti. I’m allergic to wheat and find the texture of this pasta much better than rice pasta. It’s almost as good as the real thing, though it’s been so long I may not accurately remember anymore!
Fresh ground black pepper to taste and you might want to salt the water that you cook the pasta in, but if you don’t like salt much or you have to watch your intake, skip that because the capers, anchovies and olives all have a lot of salt.
So saute the onion and garlic until lightly browned. Add the pesto, capers and olives and saute for a couple of minutes with the garlic and onion. Then add the tomatoes, tuna and the parsley and cook until it comes to a boil and then immediately turn it off. I like this not to cook too long.
That’s it.
Bon apetit.
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#1 by Van - April 17th, 2009 at 21:33
The very 1st thing I thought when I saw your picture – before even reading the story – was “Oh, what restaurant did she get this from?” Really, this looks amazing, Gianna!
I’m a huge fan of Tuna, have you tried this dish with fresh instead of canned tuna? Now, I don’t know if the seared/raw aspect would work with the overall taste of the dish, but in my mind it sounds like it might be something that would work….
Nice job!
#2 by Wandering Coyote - April 17th, 2009 at 21:37
What a symphony of flavours!
#3 by Anju - April 17th, 2009 at 21:37
This looks GREAT! I am a big tuna fan and have always wanted to use it in cooking. I want to definitely try this one
#4 by giannakali - April 17th, 2009 at 22:05
Hi Van,
thanks!
frankly, I think of this as sort of peasant food and I think a good raw piece of tuna would be lost and wasted in this dish…the flavors are so powerful….
the joys of a good fresh tuna steak is the delicate nature of it, in my opinion…
oh by the way…another really good addition which I somehow forgot about today is red chili flakes…it’s good SPICEY….really good.
just another flavor in the already heavy bouquet but it’s a nice variation.
#5 by giannakali - April 17th, 2009 at 22:10
you know Anju,
something most non-Italians don’t think of is using tuna in ANY red pasta sauce. It’s really quite nice and easy and cheap when you’re in a hurry to make a sauce.
I’ve always used tuna in red sauces from time to time when I don’t have all the ingredients for the whole shebang this dish demands!
in general it’s considered bad form to use cheese (parmesan, romano, etc) in red sauces with fish…I grew up with that standard and really don’t like it as a result…my husband however will put cheese on something like this.
If it’s your impulse to put cheese on all pasta dishes hold off and try it without first…I really think it does taste better, but it may be my training!
#6 by Naturalgal - April 17th, 2009 at 22:30
This looks really good. I never think about putting tuna in with red sauces.
#7 by Van - April 17th, 2009 at 22:42
I had wondered if the tuna would get lost in mix. I agree, the nature of true tuna steak is quite delicate….
#8 by Val - April 18th, 2009 at 18:06
OK, looks great – I probably can’t come close to duplicating it, but I’ll certainly try!
#9 by Van Santos - April 18th, 2009 at 19:54
That is part of the fun of cooking, Val. You try but you make your version of it. No set rules!
Thanks for stopping in.
#10 by giannakali - April 18th, 2009 at 19:56
Van is right Val…you just do your own thing and whatever happens, happens.
it’s kind of hard to mess this up…it’s just all really good stuff…
#11 by Jinny - April 20th, 2009 at 16:55
Interesting, I`ll quote it on my site later.
Have a nice day
Jinny