Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Tuna fish, anyone?

I like tuna fish.  Eating it has made me feel happy since I was a little kid, especially when it was mixed with mayonnaise and served on white bread, hopefully with a bag of potato chips on the side, and washed down with a glass of chocolate milk.  I try to resist urges like this these days, but still love to cook with (canned) tuna, which, after all, is about as cheap as you can get and doesn't have all those mercury problems that you have to worry about with fresh tuna.  I especially like to make Salade Nicoise with it (my secret ingredient is rice, instead of potatoes) or tuna with chick peas, charred red peppers, red onions, radishes, olive oil and kosher salt.

Here's what I recommend: Tonno Genova, solid light tuna in olive oil.   It's great and, if you're lucky, you can find it for $1.89 a can (usually at Fairway on the Upper West Side - I also found it recently at Cromer's in Montauk, where I bought out the entire supply because everything in Montauk is so expensive and I figured they'd sell out fast anyway).  Don't go crazy and buy it for more than $2.50 a can - just wait and look around.  If you've ever seen it for less than $1.89, let me know.

Today, I'm looking for:  A recipe for pasta with tuna and tomato sauce.  I once ate this at Penne's, which is a really nice restaurant in Philadelphia near U. of Penn.  The sauce was very light (practically more olive oil than tomato) and the pasta was whole wheat.  I've tried some recipes that sound similar in cookbooks but can't find anything that I like.  Any ideas?

4 comments:

jas said...

With its balance of protein and carbs, the dish you describe is both a source of energy and calmness. My opinion is that the simpler the receipe, the better. For the sauce, add some capers for zing, but not much more.

Today'sFrase said...

Good point, Jas. I like your idea about capers and plan to give that a try. Any other tuna recipes worth trying?

Unknown said...

How about canned tuna with fresh fava beans (boiled quickly to remove the shell); or, alternatively, fresh cranberry, or borlotti beans (simmered for 15-20 minutes, with a clove of garlic and peppercorns). In either case, the tuna and beans go very well with tart cherry tomatoes (yellow/orange "sunburst") or the sundried variety. Capers, as per Jas, are a fabulous idea, too.

Today'sFrase said...

TF-ers, I don't want to build your excitement up too high, but one of our visitors has emailed me a recipe for pasta with tuna and tomato sauce. It looks like it might just be the real thing. I am going to try it out sometime soon and, if it tastes as good as it reads, I'll post it. Keep those recipes coming!