You may recall that I blogged about making homemade tonno sott'olio (tuna marinated in olive oil) over the weekend. I don't remember which thread it was but if you search on one of the meal threads, there's a post about it.
Here is one of the jars two days later.
Clockwise from left: 2 cups flaked marinated ahi tuna; 1/2 cup marinating oil; 1/4 cup capers; 1 28-oz. can whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes; 1 onion, diced; pinch of crushed red pepper flakes; 1/2 tsp. dried oregano; 1/4 cup minced Italian parsley.
Not shown is a pot full of boiling pasta.
The reason why I made homemade tonno sott'olio isn't because of the fish but because of the oil. That's the secret ingredient. We'll be using the marinating oil to form the base of the sauce and as a final garnish. Let's get to it. You can use regular Italian canned tuna but it just won't be the same, mostly because you won't have all of that extra oil to play around with.
Warm 1/4 cup marinating oil in a skillet, add onion and a pinch of salt. Cook for 1-2 minutes over medium-high heat.
Clear a space in the pan, then add the capers and toast for 1 minute. Stir capers into onion and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Add tuna, dried oregano and a pinch of salt. Sauté tuna for a few minutes while it lightly caramelizes. Clear a spot in the pan and add the crushed red pepper flakes. Toast for 30 seconds to 1 minute, then stir into tuna.
Lidia [Bastianich] uses this technique frequently in her cookbooks, I've noticed.
Add tomatoes to pan. Crush tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon. Fill can with 1-2 ladlefuls pasta cooking water and add to the pan of sauce. Add 2 tbsp. marinating oil to the pan of sauce. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes while you finish cooking your pasta.
Ideally, prepare this sauce as your pasta cooks. It only takes 15 minutes from start to finish.
When pasta is done, drain, then add to the pan of sauce. Remove pan from heat, then stir in chopped parsley. Mix well. Drizzle 2 tbsp. marinating oil into pasta, then toss again.
Serve immediately.
Penne con tonno sott'olio e pomodoro, from "Lidia's Family Table" by Lidia Bastianich, pages 14-15.
We served that along with zucchini and basil soup (recipe: http://www.elizabethminchilliinrome.com/2013/07/zucchini-basil-soup/ ), and peaches for dessert.
