Pasta with No-Cook Tuna Sauce

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!

Resistant Starch: Pasta Alfredo with Peas & Shrimp

Desserts or homey, slowly simmered meals are not the only edibles that can comfort.

Pasta drenched in Alfredo sauce rich in cream, butter, and . . . 

. . . cheese will pamper the self just as much.

Not only does cooking the pasta and peas and storing them overnight in the fridge the night before saves time the following day, such a process allows the starch to become resistant when the pasta is reheated. For two servings, ingredients and their amounts are in bold. Throw in two large handful of frozen peas (if fresh, add during the last few minutes of cooking) with enough pasta for two servings into boiling water and cook till just al dente. Drain, put into a container, and stir in a little oil to keep the pasta from sticking together. Cover and put in fridge.

The next day, in a suitably sized skillet, pour in 6-8 tablespoons of cream, bring to a simmer, add 4 tablespoons of sweet butter.

When butter is completely melted, add 8 tablespoons of freshly grated Parmesan.

Gently melt all the cheese while stirring frequently till sauce is thick and smooth. When a spoon is dragged across the sauce and stays parted for a few seconds, it's done.

Toss in the pasta, peas, and three handfuls of small, cooked shrimp (if frozen, first thaw and then squeeze out the liquid which can be reserved for fish/seafood chowders).

Stirring often, simmer for a minute or two . . .

. . . until everything is slicked with a scrumptious glaze and most of the liquid is gone. Salt to taste.

Cocooning, baby! That's the word the French use to denote setting up your personal environment in such a way that you feel cozy, protected from a fast-moving, demanding world. Afterwards, it would not be remiss, if you snuggle under a courtepointe douce (soft small quilt), propped up with a cushion here, a cushion there (especially for the feet), and read a book. Ah,  les petits bonheurs (the little things of happiness)!

À la prochaine!

Summer Style: Well-Dressed Pasta Salad, Lemonade, Five Easy Fresh Tomato Recipes & Front Garden Floral Displays

A capacious bowl of cold pasta salad is not only delicious like its steaming counterpart, there's also the benefit of a nice dose of resistant starch because letting pasta cool down, also cools down blood sugar spikes. Just mix ingredients, pop in fridge, sleep on it overnight, and the next day you got one lovely, exceedingly well-marinaded, and tasty concoction. If you made a hefty amount, it'll be there for you after doing chores or when you watch a video or welcoming you once the gardening is done for the day and beyond as it gets more flavourful through time. Since the dressing is what's going to permeate the pasta and give it an alluring oomph, choose ingredients you love. In my case: minced garlic, grated Parmesan, capers (Oh, how I adore thee!), olive oil, lemon juice, fresh basil, and silky, tart yogurt.

Romas from our potager are perfect for this salad as they are more meaty than juicy

For two meal-sized servings or four to six smaller ones: fistfuls of penne, 6; roma tomatoes, 8-10; yogurt, 8 T; extra virgin olive oil, 2 T; freshly squeezed juice from 1 lemon; capers, 2 T; chopped fresh basil, 1 heaping T; finely grated Parmesan, 8 T; 2-4 garlic cloves, minced; salt (I used several tsp) and freshly ground black pepper (I did about 8 turns of the mill) to taste.  Toss penne into boiling water which should take about 12 minutes to become al dente, the perfect consistency for salads. Put all other ingredients except tomatoes into a large bowl. Whisk for about a minute.

No whisk chez vous?  A fork will do just fine instead.

Drain the pasta and let cold water run over the strainer so the penne does not cook any further. Give the strainer a few good shakes and then plop pasta into the bowl with the dressing. Can't be bothered to dig out a strainer or you don't have one? It's summer; let's keep it simple and easy. Use a slightly ajar lid or a plate to let out the water and keep the pasta in, fill with cold water, and drain again. Mix pasta and dressing well. Chop tomatoes and add to the dressed salad. Check seasoning. Remember that as it chills, the impact of seasoning fades a bit so it needs a generous hand. Cover and put in fridge for at least an hour. It goes well with lemonade, but then again most summery comestibles do: put 2-3 tablespoons of sugar in bottom of a glass (296 ml/10 oz), scant cover with hot tap water, stir till dissolved, add juice of a large lemon along with enough icy-cold water to bring the 'ade to the rim. During the summer we keep several water bottles in the fridge rather than bother with making ice cubes. If you got them, then float a few in your glass especially if the temperature is scorching.

Lemon waiting to be turn into 'ade

It's that time of the year when The Calm One and I get to enjoy tomatoes fresh from the potager every day till autumn. 

Here are some of our favourite dishes:

We put thinly sliced tomatoes on top of macaroni and cheese, add more cheese, and then broil till tomatoes are more sauce than not and cheese is bubbly.

Topping is a mix of edam and cheddar

The big ones, cored and stuffed with a mixture of chopped pulp, minced tuna/shrimp/chicken, and mayonnaise, are served over couscous.

Thickly sliced toms are placed on a bed of cooked brown rice which are sprinkled with olive oil, basil, parmesan, then put under the broiler.

Medium-sized, hollowed-out tomatoes are filled with a raw egg while the chopped pulp is placed on a bed of cooked couscous along with the filled toms, sprinkled with olive oil, thyme, salt, freshly ground black pepper, and baked covered for about twenty minutes.

They are added to salads and sandwiches, especially grilled cheese.

Pan-Grilled Tomato Basil Cheddar Sourdough Rye Sandwich

Potted tuberous begonias and dahlias which were started several months ago are brightening up our front entrance. Additionally, the cascading begonias are scenting that area with their remarkable, black-tea-morphing-into-grapefruit fragrance. Late July and August often see a dearth of flowers, so long-blooming varieties like these two, especially potted and placed in full view, can carry the garden into autumn. Since these beauties are working so hard and are not in the ground, they get a liquid feed weekly.

Deadheading in general is a good habit but is essential for showcased, potted flowers

À la prochaine!

RELATED LINK

The grand history of breeding fragrant begonias

Baby Beet Greens, Peas, Garlic, Parmesan Farfalle

The Calm One was out shopping for pasta he uses in his three pasta/three cheeses mac 'n cheese: penne, corkscrews, and pipes. Reaching for a box, he saw that it was already opened. So he reached for another, and that one also was unsealed. So he wriggled his long arms even higher, so high that when he grappled with a hopefully sealed package, he heard a crash on the other side of the aisle. Chastened, he hastily put it in the cart and after noting that the closure was intact, made a speedy getaway. And that is how we get to try new things. As the pasta was farfalle.

Rise, O steam!

Harvesting peas is a Goldilocks endeavour. The pod needs to be plump, but not so much that every molecule of air is replaced with pea. In other words, the pod should not be completely rigid but still a bit pliant.

Peas over a certain size will not be as sweet. The perfect pea placement is when they are just touching each other.

Beet seed naturally forms clusters so no matter how carefully it is sowed, there will be an opportunity to harvest baby beet greens by thinning, leaving about 10 cm (four inches) between beets so the rest can develop into ruby beauties.

I prefer young and even older beet greens to spinach in terms of taste and texture

Ingredients are in bold. For one serving, put a couple of fistfuls of farfalle in boiling water. Contrary to traditional advice, use just the amount of water to cover as giving the pasta the room to swim does not do anything necessary and takes more time to bring to a boil, plus a more flavoured water makes a better sauce. Cook for ten minutes. Toss in a handful of shelled fresh peas. Simmer for a few minutes or until the peas and pasta are mostly done as their cooking will continue in the sauce. Keep a few tablespoons of cooking water aside. Drain and reserve. In the same pot, saute a minced garlic clove over low heat in a tablespoon of olive oil for about a minute or until fragrant. No browning please! Toss in a handful of chopped baby beet greens. Stir until tender, just a few minutes. Add the pasta water or in my case a combo of pasta water and chicken stock. Stir in the pasta and peas, coating them with the sauce. Simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated. If the peas and pasta are getting overcooked, pour out any remaining liquid and give the dish a final stir over the heat. Salt to taste and serve with freshly grated Parmesan and freshly milled black pepper. I thoroughly enjoyed scoffing it down as it tasted FRESH! Thank goodness for the potager.

You are looking for a glazing effect not a soupy one

Lavender out in the front garden fills the air with its fragrance.

A pollinator busy at work.

Though expansive garden vistas are lovely, I tend to gravitate towards a peekaboo perspective giving a layered view: Queen Elizabeth rose, a veggie bed, and lavender.

There are not many strawberries left to harvest, but luscious raspberries make up for the slack. Most days there are enough for a morning feast with cereal or for dessert or for a late night snack.

The first daylily opened a bud the other day. Each day there will be new flowers hence their name.

One of our five plants

À la prochaine!

Tagliatelle, Asparagus & Parmesan in Lemon Butter Sauce

Quick, delicious, and nutritious pasta dishes work. All the time. But especially in asparagus season.

Lemon and butter brings out the best both in pasta and asparagus

It's the first time that our asparagus which was planted about five seasons ago can sustain a full harvest lasting two months therefore asparagus picking chez nous will continue till mid-May. Yay for mature asparagus beds!

The bed was weeded and fertilised about two weeks ago. Spears are cut with a sharp knife at an slight angle just below the soil

For one large serving, boil up a couple of fistfuls of pasta. Wash about six spears. Thickly slice the stems on the diagonal, leaving the tips whole. About two minutes before the pasta is almost al dente, toss in the sliced asparagus. After a minute, add the tips. Scoop out a large ladle of pasta water and reserve. In another minute, drain the pasta and asparagus, keeping them in the strainer. Depending on how fresh your asparagus is, it could take less or more time so check for tenderness as it cooks. No mush please! In the same pot that the pasta was cooked, melt a nice knob of butter. Add the freshly squeezed juice from a small lemon and a slosh of the pasta water. Simmer for a minute. Then add the pasta and asparagus, stirring for about a minute or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Serve with a good sprinkling of fleur de sel, freshly ground black pepper, and Parmesan shavings. 

My favourite tagliatelle are short, broad, and slightly curvy noodles made with eggs

Though not as decorative as non-fruiting trees, our peach beauty is putting out a decent enough show of deep-pink blossoms.

Ditto for the purple plum.

L'herbe (includes any herbaceous, soft-stemmed plant so that term is perfect for our weedy lawn!) got its first edging of the season with the dresse-bordure (metal lawn edger shaped like a half-moon) and grass clippers. An effective method is easing the edger close to the concrete/tiled edge while at a slight angle towards the grass so as to undercut the roots. Remove the tool by slightly rocking it from side to side as the handle is pressed towards the grass side so as to compact the wodge of soil (slightly moist soil is the most malleable) so it doesn't crumble into the little ditch that is being made. Using your gloved fingers, pull out the cut strip, shaking off and squishing any excess soil back into the ditch. The edge is cut with well oiled, sharpened, and cleaned grass clippers. The clippings get scooped out and the patio swept. Even our 'lawn' looks great with such precise treatment! Such edging usually needs refreshing several times during the growing season while clipping the grass along the ditch needs to be repeated when the lawn is mowed. As pesky as this maintenance is, it is one of the tasks that drastically improves the appearance of any garden. As my British sister-in-law says, it makes the garden look posh.

Culinary sage in the lower right which soon will be be pruned back severely

Our neighbours bring us their clippings which include lots of fragrant camomile from their front garden.

The clippings are turned frequently to dry them out, so they can be used as mulch, along with partially decomposed leaves from this past autumn (in background)

The two overwintered beds of onions, garlic, and shallots have been weeded and fertilised. They are awaiting to be mulched to conserve soil moisture until their harvest in July.

The Darwin hybrid Apeldoorn tulips charm in their cherry-red, silk dresses.

Italian arums are putting out their distinctive, shield-shaped leaves, making tuffs of lush green.

À la prochaine!

RELATED LINKS

L'herbe is not exactly a lawn. Explanation in French here.
Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe

Baked Pasta with Puy Lentils, Basil & Gruyère

A mirepoix is often the best way to start a sauce or stew. Ingredients vary but usually consist of carrots, celery, and onions. The finely chopped veggies are sauteed, actually closer to being braised, in a good amount of olive oil or butter.

For the lentil sauce, I subbed shallots for the onions and added tomatoes along with some fresh basil, all from our potager.

Shallots are my 'desert island' vegetable as they are sublime

Lentilles Vertes du Puy are described as green, but they are more speckled than anything else. These tiny, delicious discs stay firm after cooking while tasting of black pepper and hazelnuts. Grown in Le Puy-en-Velay, a commune in the Haute-Loire department near the Loire river, they have been given an AOC.

For around a litre and a half of lentil sauce, finely dice one medium carrot, one celery stalk, and four shallots. In two tablespoons of warmed olive oil and over low heat, saute the vegetables. Stir frequently. Their aroma will fill the air as they become translucent and soft which takes about fifteen minutes.

Add three diced medium tomatoes and continue to simmer with occasional stirring for another ten minutes. Towards the end, toss in a small handful of basil leaves which have been finely minced.

Stir in 370 ml of rinsed lentils.

Pour in a litre of either water or broth (I used homemade chicken but a veggie one is fine). Bring to a simmer and cook gently for forty-five minutes. Add liquid if it becomes too dry.  Salt to taste as lentils become tough when salted during cooking. Remove any tomato skins that have risen to the surface.

The speckles vanished!

The sauce can be frozen or used as a base for lentil soup (just add more broth) or served over brown rice/polenta. In this case I made pasta enough for two, drained it, added several ladles of sauce which was partially pureed via a stick mixer, a few tablespoons of cream, and salted the mixture to taste making sure that it was wet enough to withstand the drying effect of baking. The pasta was placed in a baking dish and covered with lots of Gruyère. Baked for about ten minutes in a 177 degrees C oven, it became creamy but crusty and totally wonderful. For a larger amount, layers would be more appropriate, alternating between pasta and cheese which would require a longer baking time.

Gruyère was chosen because it melts so well.

Though most pasta shapes will be suitable for this dish, small shells double as adorable little serving platters.

A sprinkling of fleur de sel is a nice touch

À la prochaine!