Pasta – Plain and Simple

What do you get when you put tomato, garlic, tuna, rocket and olive oil together? Give up? A delicious sauce to stir through linguine AND to be hoed into within 15 minutes (ya hearing this Jamie?)

Canned tuna does not make it onto the top ten amongst our brood, so to find a combination of ingredients that carries it along discreetly is a wonderful thing. Somehow, this simple gathering seems to work its magic, and I am able to trot cans out of the pantry regularly without suspicious looks anymore. It’s possible that part of the mystery stems from the quality of the fish in the can and Serena is good stuff. (On the rare occasion that I am whipping this gem up for my own consumption, I use the chilli variety – and then you’re talking.)

Another explanation may be the mermaid. If my childhood memory serves me correctly, Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Mermaid was quite an enigmatic young lass, who returned to the sea leaving many questions unanswered. I’m not saying there is a connection – but this tuna definitely stands alone…..

1 packet of linguine
olive oil
3-4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
5 good-sized, ripe tomatoes, thickly sliced into rounds
large can of tuna
100g baby rocket
salt and pepper

Fill a large pot with hot salted water and bring to boil. Add linguine and cook according to recommended time.
Heat olive oil (be very generous) over medium heat in large frying pan and cook garlic and tomato slices.
Turn slices regularly and when they begin to soften and breakdown, stir through the undrained can of tuna.
Cook through for a few minutes and load rocket on top. Gradually mix rocket through, it will wilt and shrink.
Season with salt and pepper.
Drain pasta and return it to pot.
Pour over the pan of sauce and mix through. Serve.

Postscript: and not only is this product top quality, but Sirena and I can swap makeup and fitness tips while the pasta boils…

A meal drawn together from store cupboard items, with a few fresh ingredients thrown in, is financially, nutritionally and palatably rewarding.

Think of all of the delicious treats that a deli offers, and you basically have the running sheet for this dish. With a couple of chorizo sausages on hand in the freezer and a healthy patch of parsley in the garden, this is my go to on a busy week night.

The crowing glory of this pasta pull-together is that is tastes even better after a night spent sealed up in the refrigerator. So prepare it the night before, and just as you land in the door on the following evening, right before it’s time to drive away again for the night shuttle service, a sumptuous meal awaits.

300g penne pasta (or whatever is you prefer/have on hand)
olive oil
2 chorizo sausages, sliced
1/2 jar sun-dried tomatoes, sliced into strips
handful pitted black olives, sliced in half
8 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
small block of feta
generous bunch of continental parsley, chopped
sea salt and cracked black pepper

Fill a large pot with salted hot water and bring to the boil. Add pasta and cook according to instructions on pack.
Meanwhile add a dash of olive oil to a large frying pan and brown the chorizo on both sides.
Add all of the remaining ingredients and pan fry for 5-10 minutes, with a liberal dousing of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
Drain pasta and return to pot. Add contents of frying pan to pasta and mix through. Crumble feta over the top and mix again.
Serve with extra parsley as garnish.

Postscript: You’ll notice that the quantities in this recipe are a bit ‘loose’. This is how I construct it and I’m sure you will give it your own twist.