The Story
This week we’re bringing you a family classic, a simple and delicious dish that was on regular rotation when I was a kid. Tuna and capsicum pasta can be as straightforward as a couple of capsicums, a tin of tuna, and some dried pasta. Despite this simplicity, or perhaps because of it, it makes for an unexpectedly satisfying meal and a perfect option for a quick dinner.
Now there’s nothing wrong with using some good old tinned fish, but we’re suckers for punishment (and homemade food) so we’ve made our own tuna in oil this week. It’s not truly preserved, but will last in the fridge for around 2 weeks before you should get suspicious of it. So if you come across a good chunk of tuna in your travels, remember this recipe: boil and oil.
Finally, we’re very excited to be featuring our chitarra this week. We actually use it a lot because there’s something special about the pasta edges that it produces. It’s a sharp, right-angled cut that you can’t replicate with a knife or cutter, and it is just so good to munch on. Credit where it’s due, those Abruzzesi sure know how to cut their pasta. Of course, if you don’t own one of these guitar-stringed gadgets, you can substitute with any other long pasta. We often had it with linguine, which has a similar bite.
The Pasta
First off, the tuna! This is as simple as it is rewarding, but if you don’t have 3 odd hours of prep time available grab a tin or two from the cupboard and skip to the next stage. Add the salt into the water and bring to the boil, then trim any skin and dark flesh off the tuna before dropping it in. Lower the heat and gently simmer for 1.5-2 hours, before removing and draining. If you’d like it extra firm, stick it in an airtight container in the fridge over night to completely dry out. Then cut it into large chunks, jar it up, and completely submerge it with oil. As you dip into your tuna supplies over the next fortnight, make sure that it goes back into the fridge each time covered over with oil.
We’re making a similarly simple pasta dough today – pretty much an egg for every 100g of flour. As a quick reminder, we use large eggs for our recipes so if you’re cooking with smaller ones and find that the dough is too dry as it comes together, gradually add water (no more than 1tbsp at a time) until it is soft but not sticking to your hands or work surface. We’d provide our egg measurements in grams, but it’s a little impractical for a simple Sunday pasta, and potentially a bit wasteful. So as always with pasta, start with a recipe, but then feel your way through it!
Once you’ve mixed it all together in your flour well, give it a vigorous knead for 10 minutes and then rest it for 30. Now’s a great time to get those capsicums going. Start the garlic off in the oil, then cut the capsicums into thin strips and add them in with a little seasoning. Cook covered on low heat for 45 minutes.
Back to the chitarra. Tighten up those strings, serenade your lover or bemused toddler, and roll out that pasta dough. We went for a medium-thin thickness (6 on a 9-setting machine) but you can go thicker – this pasta is well suited to it. If you’re on a machine, give it a few turns on the thickest setting folding over itself in between passes, and then incrementally step it through to your final thickness.
Cut the sheets into lengths of around 30cm, lay them across the chitarra, and roll firmly with a pin (the motion is actually more of a drag than a roll). We use an empty, de-labelled wine bottle ourselves to avoid scratching up our rolling pin. As it’s cut, the pasta will drop through onto the tray underneath; once it has all fallen through, just tilt the chitarra on its side, and scoop up all that fine-looking pasta.
If you’re eating immediately, pop it into a large pot of boiling and lightly salted water, and cook until al dente. If not, toss gently with a little flour and refrigerate uncovered for up to one week.
To serve, crumble the tuna into the capsicums, add in the drained pasta (with a little pasta water if needed to help emulsification), and plate it up.
Buon appetito, and see you next time!
– Al & Al.
Equipment
- Chitarra (optional)
Ingredients
Pasta
- 250 g plain flour
- 150 g 00 flour
- 4 eggs
- 1 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1-2 tbsp water as required
- Pinch of salt
Tuna in Oil
- 1.5 litres water
- 120 g salt
- 400 g tuna steaks
- 1 cup olive oil extra virgin
Sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 6 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 kg red capsicums cut into thin strips
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Pasta
- Form a flour well, add the eggs and 1 tbsp of olive oil into the centre, and then use a fork or your hand to bring it together into a loose ball. Gradually add 1-2 tbsp of water if dough is too dry.
- On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough by hand for 10 minutes. If it sticks to your hands or the kneading surface, add flour at a rate of no more than 1 tbsp at a time, and combine thoroughly.
- Transfer to an airtight container and rest for 30 minutes, out of direct sunlight and heat.
- Using a pasta machine, roll the dough through on the thickest setting 2-3 times, folding over itself in between passes. Then step up incrementally to a thickness of 6.
- If using a chitarra, cut the pasta into appropriate lengths, lay on top and roll firmly with a pin until all pasta has dropped through. Otherwise cut the pasta into 30cm long sheets, and roll through a machine cutter, or fold and slice by hand.
- Transfer to a lightly floured, baking paper lined tray, and refrigerate uncovered for up to one week.
Tuna in Oil
- Add the salt to the water and bring to the boil over high heat.
- Remove any skin and dark flesh from the tuna, and then add to the water. Reduce heat to low, and maintain a gentle simmer for 1.5-2 hours. Remove and drain tuna.
- Optional: if you have the time, allow the tuna to cool, and then refrigerate over night. This will ensure that it is completely dry, and will firm it up.
- Cut the tuna into 3-4cm strips, and place into clean, dry jars or airtight containers. Fill with oil, ensuring that the tuna is completely submerged. Store sealed and refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.
Sauce
- Gently fry the garlic in 2 tbsp of oil in a large frypan, on low heat, for 5-6 minutes. Do not allow to brown.
- Add the capsicums, season with salt, and stir. Cover the frypan and cook for 45 minutes, stirring regularly, until capsicums are soft and beginning to brown.
- Uncover and cook for a further 3-4 minutes, then add the tuna, breaking it up slightly as you stir it through. Remove from the heat.
- To plate up, cook the pasta in lightly salted water until al dente (no white dough visible when cut into) and then drain, retaining a cup of the cooking water. Drop the pasta directly into the frypan with the sauce, and add a little of the cooking water if required to assist emulsification. Serve with a a fresh crack of black pepper.
