Spaghetti con Tonno alla Ileana
While I’ve made some version of this many times, today’s included the ingredients listed below. It’s such a good pantry pasta that comes together in 15 minutes. Today in Florence it’s Pasquetta or what we call little Easter. Tuscany’s governor declared the region an even stricter red zone for Easter and Pasquetta to prevent gatherings and mandated ALL businesses remain closed. That left me without my beloved farmer’s market since Saturday, and since I only buy fresh ingredients every couple of days I had to raid my pantry, and get into Chopped Kitchen mode. This recipe isn’t made with an exact measure of ingredients, it’s a pantry pasta made with a little bit of this a little bit of that. I would use about 100 grams of pasta per person, and you can use the pasta cooking water to stretch out the sauce for as many portions as you’re making. Either way you’ll have everyone licking their lips with this super quick and flavorful pantry pasta
Spaghetti con Tonno alla Ileana & Layla
Spaghetti Con Tonna alla Ileana
Serves as many or as little as you want
Ingredients:
Spaghetti
Tuna in olive oil
Capers packed in salt
Leccine olives
Tomato paste
Sundried cherry tomatoes
Garlic
EVOO
Leftover radish tops
Leftover scallions
Note: Feel free to omit the tuna for a vegetarian version. I used what was in my pantry and leftover ingredients in my fridge. The radish tops are the green leaves that come attached to the radishes, and I had a ton left in my fridge. I keep them for salads, pestos or in this case to use as an herb. You can also sub out and use any greens you have in the fridge to add some freshness to this pantry pasta, such as arugula, parsley, spinach, etc. I LOVE salt packed capers but this recipe also works with brined capers. If you are using brined capers give them a quick rinse to tone down the intense brine flavor.
Mise en Place
Method:
The spaghetti I’m using takes about 14 minutes to cook which is the amount of time I need to make the sauce. If your pasta shape requires less time or more time adjust as needed. You can always make the sauce, shut off the heat, then cook your pasta and proceed with the step from when the pasta is added to the sauce.
Add hot water to cover the sundried tomatoes to rehydrate them. As soon as they’re hydrated, remove them from the water and chop them. Add cold water to the salt packed capers, and change the water a few times to remove the excess salt. Once they’re rinsed, drain and chop.
Sundried Cherry Tomatoes & Salted Capers
Add a generous drizzle of EVOO to a pan, and add a smashed clove of garlic to the pan. Cook on low to medium heat until golden which takes just a couple of minutes. Add half the scallions and cook with the garlic for a few minutes.
Add about a teaspoon of the tomato paste, and stir together with the garlic/scallion mixture while toasting in the pan. This helps remove that raw tomato paste flavor, and also create a nice flavor base for the rest of the ingredients.
Add the canned tuna, and the chopped sundried tomatoes. Still together and cook a few minutes. Add the olives and the chopped capers stir to combine.
EVOO, Tomato Paste, Leccine Olives, Capers, Sundried Cherry Tomaotes, Tuna
By now the pasta has been cooked to al dente texture. Drain, while reserving some cooking water, and add the spaghetti to the pan with the ingredients. Stir, and add splashes of cooking water to the pan to marry the sauce to the pasta. You may have to add the pasta cooking water a few times, it will be done when there is a nice shiny, starch coating of sauce clinging to each spaghetti. Add the other half of the scallions, and the chopped radish tops. Plate and Buon Appetito!
