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SPAGHETTI WITH TUNA&OLIVES




Source of Recipe


LYNN R.CASPER


Recipe Introduction


IS A GREAT RECIPE


List of Ingredients




SEE BELOW

Recipe



==== FRIDAY NIGHT SPAGHETTI WITH TUNA AND BLACK OLIVES ====
Adapted from "The Italian Country Table: Home Cooking for Italy's Farmhouse Kitchens" by Lynne Rossetto Kasper (Scribner, 1999).

Copyright 1999 by Lynne Rossetto Kasper.

Serves , 8 as a main dish

2 large cloves garlic
2 tightly packed tablespoons fresh Italian parsley leaves
1/8 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1 pound spaghetti
6 quarts boiling salted water
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium red onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 oil-packed anchovy fillets, rinsed and chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 6-ounce can tuna packed in olive oil, lightly drained
Freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup oil-cured black olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon vinegar-packed capers, drained

1. Chop the garlic and parsley with the salt in a food processor. Or mound the salt in a small pile near the edge of a cutting board. Crush the garlic into it with the side of a knife blade. Add the parsley and chop everything fine.

2. Drop the spaghetti into fiercely boiling water and cook until it's a little firmer than you'd like it. Quickly measure out about 1 1/4 cups of the pasta water and set aside. Drain the spaghetti in a colander.

3. As the pasta cooks, heat the oil in a 12-inch sauté pan over medium-high heat. Stir in the garlic-parsley mixture and half the onion. Sauté until the onion is beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Don't brown the garlic. Blend in 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water and cook to nothing. Stir in the anchovies and tomato paste, along with about 1/3 cup more of the reserved pasta water. Continue stirring over medium heat 1 minute. Blend in the tuna, seasoning with salt, and pepper to taste. Cook another minute, adding a little pasta water if there's no moisture in the pan. Remove from the heat.

4. If the sauce has dried up, stir in enough pasta water to moisten the bottom of the pan. Toss in the drained pasta, the remaining red onion, the olives, and the capers. Toss over medium heat a few minutes to thoroughly cloak the spaghetti with sauce. Taste for seasoning and serve hot. No cheese is needed for this dish.



==== LYNNE'S QUICK TIPS ====
* Please don't substitute water-packed tuna here. The recipe will be a disaster. The best olive oil-packed tunas brim with meaty richness.

* Tuna in olive oil can become an addiction. The best examples are as good as steak in my book. For modest prices and decent quality, look for Progresso, Chicken of the Sea, or Bumble Bee. For much more money and exceptional quality, look for brands like A's Do Mar, Ortiz, and