Monday, December 20, 2010

Pasta with Tuna-Tomato Sauce


[insert usual "It's been a while..." + applicable excuses/commentary] Whether I catch up with old recipes or not, onwards.

The pleasures of being at home on a winter weekday and cooking for myself were redoubled by a handful of fresh parsley and chives from the garden. This simple, loose recipe is perfect for such days; next time (perhaps even tomorrow) I'll add some carrots and celery, maybe some red pepper flakes or cayenne powder.
  • some pasta (I used enough penne to make 2 or so cups, cooked)
  • 1 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1/2 small onion, diced (about 1/3 cup)
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped (about 1 heaping tbsp.)
  • 1 five oz. can of tuna, drained
  • 1 12 oz. can of diced tomatoes, with their liquid.
  • salt and pepper to taste
Bring salted water to a boil. Cook pasta till done; drain and reserve a bit of the pasta cooking water, just in case.

Meanwhile, saute the onion in oil over medium heat till soft. Add the garlic; cook for a minute or so, till it's fragrant.

Add the tuna. Stir to mix, then add the tomatoes. Cool several minutes more, till the sauce is to your liking (I was too impatient to wait for the tomatoes to break down, which was fine - it was sharper than it would have otherwise been). Season to taste.

Add pasta and stir to combine, adding some pasta water if needed. Garnish with herbs (in this case chopped parsley and chives).