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Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Orecchiette with No-Cook Tuna Sauce



I'm not a big fan of tuna. We buy it because Rodney likes to stir it up in mayo and eat it on chips (which subsequently makes his stomach hurt). So, as a sort of compromise, I decided to try this recipe: tuna for him and pasta for me. And besides it calls for Kalamata olives, so I could use up some of those we bought to make that Tuscan Pot Roast earlier. At the onset though, neither of us foresaw any desire of my doing this recipe after this one time.

This recipe came from a copy of Cooking Pleasures, but for some reason, it's not on the Cooking Pleasures website. No worries though, I didn't deviate except for the amount of pasta. I used a whole pound because I didn't want to keep 4 oz. of pasta laying around.

1.5 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 large tomatoes, chopped
2 green onions, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp pitted Nicoise or Kalamata olives, halved lengthwise
3 tbsp chopped fresh basil, divided
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper
12 oz. orecchiette or other short shaped pasta, like medium shells
1 6 or 7 oz can of tuna, undrained

Place vinegar in large bowl. Gradually whisk in oil until incorporated.


Stir in tomatoes, green onions, garlic, olives, 2 tbsp of the basil, salt and pepper. Let stand for 30 minutes.
 

Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water according to package directions, drain.


Add pasta to tomato mixture, toss to mix. Gently fold in tuna and juice, leaving tuna in large chunks. Sprinkle with remaining basil.

Simple, dinner was done in less than 45 minutes. And surprisingly good! It makes for a convenient lunch if you are working on a construction site and don't have access to a microwave. A bonus is that it's cheap:
  • tomatoes: $1.60
  • green onions: $0.39
  • olives: $3.99
  • fresh basil: $1.20
  • pasta: $0.99
  • tuna: $1.43
Total: $9.60 or $1.60/serving.

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