Sometimes, I leave myself very little time to cook dinner at night.
Those are usually the days we eat pasta. Pasta is my go to dish not just because sometimes you can make it quick and easy-but because sometimes it’s a meal all in one pan after you boil the pasta!
This is a dish I planned to post quite a while back. In fact, I took the pics and thought about the post back when I attended Maricel’s Owl Workshop.
This pasta dish is so simple it can be made in as long as it takes for your water to boil.
The ingredients are simple.
1 small white onion chopped
4 cloves of garlic minced
1 tin of Anchovies (I don’t discriminate with anchovies. Any brand will do.)
3 cans of tuna drained (Normally, I like the Century “Light.” But the supermarket was out on the day that I bought these.)
a handful of capers drained
dried basil, parsley, and oregano. (not too much of the oregano please)
EVOO (REALLY good EVOO because this is the base of your sauce)
about a cup of the pasta water. (I use filtered water for my pasta water.)
500 grams of your favorite pasta
Saute the onions until translucent and then add the minced garlic. Do this on medium low heat.
When your onions and garlic are almost cooked all the way through, add your anchovies. Be sure to include the olive oil that the anchovies are in too!
Using your wooden spoon, break up the anchovies. I mash then till they are unrecognizable. This is not the type of dish you want whole anchovies floating around in, plus the kids won’t like it 🙁
When the anchovies, onions and garlic have melded together, you can add the rest of the ingredients. Add the tuna first, let it saute a little more. Then add the capers and the spices. Don’t forget to season it with freshly ground black pepper. Just before serving add a cup of the pasta water to your big pasta bowl. It lightens up the sauce which can be a little heavy because of all of the olive oil.
Seriously, this dish was so fast, that after walking in the door from crafting all day, I had dinner on the table in 20 minutes. I asked my helper to boil the water already when I was on the way home. We toasted garlic bread, added a salad, and threw this yummy flavorful sauce over some rigatoni. You can serve it with spaghetti or even capellini. We prefer macaroni over the long noodles in our house because it’s just easier to eat.
Things to remember when making this pasta:
-ALWAYS salt your water. They say that when you taste your pasta water it should taste like the sea.
-You can change this dish up a little if you like things spicy. Add red pepper flakes, or even change the tuna you use to a spicy version.
-Whenever you are using anchovies or seafood in a pasta dish there is no need to serve it with grated (parmesan) cheese. It’s actually a no-no. No need for cheese, please!
What’s your favorite “go to” dish when you are in a hurry to get dinner on the table?
