Following on from Drew’s soup here are a few of my store-cupboard favourites, beginning with Tuna Pasta. No pictures because I’m not cooking this tonight (actually I’m writing this while cooking something else).
I was given this recipe by a mate of mine from southern Italy in halls at university as an undergraduate. I was in self catered halls which was very popular with foreign students because they suspected, correctly of course, that the catering at British universities would be pretty dodgy and they wanted to cook for themselves. It has become my go-to recipe and I always have the ingredients ready in the cupboard.
The sauce serves about 4 people
Ingredients:
80g per person of pasta (you can use anything but spaghetti, fusili or orichietta works best)
I can of Tuna Steak (this doesn’t work with fresh tuna)
1 400g can of plum tonatoes
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 brown onion
2 cloves of garlic
dried oregano
salt and pepper to season
Method:
- Chop the onions into small cubes and crush or chop the garlic
- Heat a medium sized saucepan on a medium heat and add the olive oil
- Gently fry the onions for 5 minutes until translucent
- Add the garlic for 2 minutes more
- Add the tuna, turn up the heat, add the oregano and fry for 2 minutes, stirring constantly
- Add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper to taste
- Bring to the boil then simmer for 10 minutes
- Boil your pasta according to pack instructions, drain partially and reserve some of the pasta water
- Combine the sauce and the pasta and put in some water
- Add a small amount of parmesan (this works for fish dishes in small volumes, acting as a seasoning rather than a cheese flavour)
- Serve with some homemade garlic bread (lots of recipes online). If you have the funds try it with a soft red such as Pinot Noir or Beaujolais
This is the basic recipe but you can add other ingredients such as black olives, anchovies, mushrooms etc into the sauce
Enjoy! more to follow…
HISTORY AT NORTHAMPTON 