Penne al Tonno

We are so extremely lucky with the weather these days. The sun shines every day and the temperature is around 20 degrees. I took a break this afternoon and went to visit a client in The Hague. I had to find a summer jacket to go outside. I hope this splash of nice weather does not lead us to a rainy cold summer. I’d rather have rain now.

I have loads of work to do, it’s going to get very late tonight and tomorrow. I have to put together next issue of Photobeads Pattern Express before April 5th and I have lots of other plans for the coming days. Hopefully I’ll manage.

I had penne al tonno for dinner tonight. I have modified a recipe from Pasta (Cookshelf) by Tom Bridge. It's an original dish that is very easy and fast to make. I always have all the ingredients at home, so if I don’t feel like making something complicated or have no time or miss ingredients for other dishes I can always make this. Here’s my (simplified) version:
Ingredients for 4 persons:
200g can tuna, drained
250ml olive oil
60g roughly chopped parsley (usually I have frozen chopped parsley but today I used fresh parsley from my garden!) and some extra to garnish
150ml crème fraîche
450g penne (or other pasta of your choice)
salt and pepper
some black olives

1. Bring a large pan of slightly salted water to the boil. Add the penne and a little olive oil and cook until tender, but still firm to the bite.
2. Meanwhile put the tuna into a food processor or blender together with olive oil and parsley. Process until smooth.
3. Spoon the crème fraîche into the blender and process again for a few seconds to blend thoroughly. Season to taste.
4. Drain the pasta, return to the pan and place over a small heat. Spoon in the sauce and mix it with the pasta.
5. Remove the pan from the heat and divide the pasta between 4 warm individual serving plates. Garnish with olives and parsley.

You can add garlic to the sauce, substitute chopped fresh basil for half of the parsley and use capers instead of black olives. You can also use a so-called canned tuna salad – tuna in very small pieces already. Then you don’t even need a blender. Just mix all the sauce ingredients using a fork :). The sauce will not be as smooth, but will taste as delicious!

Trivia: I fell in love with cooking at the age of 32.