Eat This Not That Part I

I came home for part of the labor day weekend, and I thought I would take advantage of the most convenient proximity of an actual grocery store :) While reading Oprah's magazine last night I found an article about cooking for one. It reaffirmed something I already know but I wasn't sure how widespread this belief is - that you are worth cooking for. Just you, by yourself, deserve a good, healthy, satisfying meal. Well, with that in mind, I tried one of the recipes made for one and now want to share it.

Penne with Tuna, Plum Tomatoes, and Black Olives (Oprah Magazine, October 2009)

- Salt
- 3 ounces penne (or fusilli or shell pasta)
- 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
- 1 small onion or fat shallot, thinly slices (about 1/4 cup)
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 large, ripe plum tomatoes, cut into rough chunks
- 1 Tbsp. white wine
- 2 1/2 to 3 ounces canned tuna in olive oil
- 10 Italian or Greek black olives, pitted and quartered
- 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1. Cook pasta, add a 1/2 Tbsp. of salt to the boiling water
2. Saute onion 3 to 4 minutes, add garlic and tomatoes and saute for another minute
3. Splash in wine and cook down, about 4 minutes
4. Break up tuna and drop chunks into the pan. Stir in olives. Add at least 1/4 cup of pasta water to the sauce.
5. Drain pasta when al dente and combine with tuna mixture in bowl, scatter parsley on top

I thought the end result was quite delicious, but some how I didn't end up with any thing that slightly resembles sauce. This is probably due to the fact that I don't have any kind of wine around, being under 21 and living in a completely dry house. I am sure adding the wine would have helped. And maybe if I used a taller skillet, not the shallow iron caste skillet I use frequently when I'm home. I did try to add pasta water to the skillet, but I just ended up getting burned when the oil attacked me.



This leads to the question - how does one go about making a sauce from cooking wine and pasta water? Well, I am no expert I don't know the answer, but I think this means I have to learn more about thickening sauces and reducing sauces. I'll let you know what I learn...