Pasta Swims with the Fishes

It’s time to come up with a Lenten menu to prepare for a few Catholic friends.  As you may know, Lent runs from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday, and it’s a period when practicing Catholics curb their rich meaty indulgences and scale down towards more of a fish and vegetable diet.

Especially for Catholics, it’s an ideal time to eat more fish; however, you don’t have to be Catholic to benefit from a fish-rich diet.  And for those of us who enjoy pasta dishes, it’s an opportunity to make a healthful fish pasta sauce.  My fish here is canned tuna, and while the sauce is rich in texture it’s very mild with no fishy flavor.

My mother cooked a pasta meal for our family about once a week, and sometimes even more often.  Two of her favorite fish sauces were tuna and anchovy.  Of those, I definitely preferred the white sauce with anchovies.  However, since I know most people aren’t as wild about the salty little anchovy as I am, I’m using tuna in my recipe today.

Pasta With Red Tuna Sauce

2 5oz cans tuna (packed in water), drained

1 lb pasta

1 large onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

½ C fresh parsley, finely chopped

1 20oz can crushed tomatoes with liquid

2 T tomato paste

¼ C white wine

3 T olive oil

2 T unsalted butter

½ t dry oregano

½ t dry basil

¼ t seasoned salt

1 shake red pepper flakes (optional)

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for topping

In a large skillet or saucepan, heat the butter and oil and sauté the onion until translucent.  Add the garlic and cook a couple of minutes.  Add all the other ingredients—except the cheese—and bring to a boil.  Cover and lower the temperature to a simmer.  Cook for 30 to 40 minutes.  Taste for seasoning, and add more salt or pepper if necessary.

In the meantime, cook a pot of your favorite pasta and drain.  If you plan to serve the entire recipe, pour the drained pasta into the saucepan and toss to coat well.  Plate it up and top with a sprinkling of the Parmesan cheese.

If you’re only serving a couple of portions, plate the dry pasta and spoon some sauce over each serving.  Top with some of the cheese.

The leftover sauce and pasta can be stored in plastic containers and refrigerated or frozen for later use.  When ready to use, just add a couple of tablespoons of water to the pasta before reheating in the microwave.  And don’t forget to cover it to keep it moist.

This sauce is delicious over any shape or style of pasta—either regular or whole wheat.  I used whole wheat linguini, and served it with garlic bread and a green salad.  And don’t forget to open some red wine if you like to enjoy your pasta like a real Italian.

Saluté!

©Pauline Boren 2010