Spaghetti or Rice in with Tuna Sauce, or Spaghetti o Riso al Tonno: This is an old recipe from Versilia, the Tuscan coastal plain north of Pisa, and though it is nowhere near as common as it once was it's well worth rediscovering. It will work equally well over spaghetti, short pasta such as penne, or rice.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes
Ingredients:
- 10 ounces (250 g) fresh tuna
- 4 whole salted anchovies
- A small bunch of parsley
- 1 or 2 cloves garlic
- Olive oil
- White wine
- A 1/2 pound (250 g) can of tomatoes
Preparation:
To serve 6 you'll need 10 ounces (250 g) fresh tuna and 4 whole salted anchovies of the kind delicatessens sell from tins; if you're using canned anchovy filets you'll need eight. In any case, mince a small bunch of parsley, one or two cloves of garlic, and a seeded, ribbed hot pepper and sauté them in about a quarter cup of olive oil until the garlic just begins to brown. Wash and bone the anchovies, and add them and the tuna to the pot. Cook for a few minutes more, stirring everything around, then add 1 1/2 cups dry white wine, a half-pound can of tomatoes, and season everything to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer the sauce for an hour or slightly more, stirring it around every now and then, and it's done.
