Monday, June 22, 2009

Empty fridge dinner...Spaghetti al Tonno

I had one of those days yesterday...unruly kids stuck inside on a rainy day; a third birthday party to attend; zero time to myself. So, come dinner time, I was utterly unprepared and uninspired. Cue my ever-reliable 'off-the-shelf' meal, Spaghetti al Tonno (spaghetti with tuna).

It's quick, tasty and you're almost guaranteed to have all the ingredients on hand at any given time. Give it a try - you may find it fits the bill as your own 'empty fridge' dinner.

what you need
4 tbs extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves
2-3 dried red chillies (I substitute dried chilli flakes)
3 anchovy fillets, drained of oil
big handful parsley, chopped
grindings of black pepper
500g spaghetti
extra olive oil and black pepper

what to do
  1. Set a large pan of water to boil. When it's at a rolling boil, add a tablespoon of salt. Add the pasta and cook according to the time on the packet.
  2. Meanwhile, finely chop the garlic, chillies and anchovies together.
  3. Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan and gently saute the garlic, chilli and anchovy for a minute or two.
  4. Break up the tuna with a fork and add this to the pan. Cook for a minute more.
  5. Add the parsley, grind over plenty of black pepper and stir well. Cook briefly.
  6. When the pasta is cooked, drain and return it to the pan and add the hot tuna 'sauce'. Toss well.
  7. Distribute among four warm plates, drizzle with a little extra olive oil and grind over some extra black pepper. That's it! Bellissimo!
Source: Recipe by Michele Round - Sunday Canberra Times, 27 April 2008

4 comments:

Tania said...

By crikey! you might just be right there with the guaranteed ingredient thing (no small feat achieving that around here).

Iris said...

Geeze, this puts my 'empty fridge' dinners to shame... How I miss the convenience of canned tuna!

LJ said...

Oh boy - my eggs on toast don't come near that. Shame on me. Good on you!!!

Blogspan said...

Great easy lunch, a few capers, if you have them are a nice addition.