The cookbook writer, Marcella Hazan, didn't just keep putting up with the dismal state of cooked tuna pasta sauce after noting the fish becomes tough with an unpleasant taste when heated like I did, but eventually blazed ahead, coming up with a scrumptious no-cook version which is stirred into hot pasta resulting in a creamy, warm concoction dominated by the luscious flavour and texture of tuna. I can't recommend this recipe enough. It's now my go-to meal when I am pressed, because it takes about fifteen minutes, uses ingredients often at hand, and is deliciously nutritious though its richness requires portion control. Fresh garlic and herbs brightens the dish both in taste and colour while the softened butter gives this sauce its unctuous consistency.
Ingredients
adapted from here
makes two servings (ingredients can be doubled except egg)
- Pasta (my choice was torti though Hazan's is fettuccine), dry, 60 g (two closed fists; for long pasta, the diameter of an American quarter X 2)
- Tuna, canned either in oil or water, 100 g (3.5 oz)
- Garlic, finely minced, 1/4 teaspoon (one small clove)
- Egg, 1, lightly beaten
- Butter, sweet, softened to room temperature, 22 g (1.5 T)
- Cream, heavy, 6 T
- Parmesan, freshly grated, 4 T
- Sorrel, fresh from our potager, a few small leaves (Hazan uses parlsey)
- Salt, table, for salting the water in which the pasta is boiled
- Fleur de sel and freshly ground black pepper
- Pasta water, a teaspoon or two
While the pasta is cooking in salted water, prepare the sauce. Put the drained tuna, minced garlic, beaten egg, softened butter, cream, and grated Parmesan in a mixing bowl.
Mash everything well with a fork until creamy but still a bit grainy.
Stack the sorrel, roll tightly, and slice thinly making a chiffonade or if using parlsey, mince finely. Drain pasta, reserving a bit of the water. Put pasta back in the pot and add the sauce, mixing well and folding in the chiffonade of sorrel or the parlsey. Dribble in the pasta water gradually, ensuring the desired consistency. Season with freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste. Hazan recommends an additional sprinkle of cheese at the table, but I opted for fleur de sel. The sauce coats the torti with a velvety sheen while the sorrel adds a citrusy zing. Leftovers are best served at room temperature because after all this is a no-cook sauce!
À la prochaine!