Penne with Tuna & Tomatoes a la Marketman

This couldn’t have taken more than 15 minutes to complete from the time the pasta water hit a boil. Into a pot of salted boiling water, add your penne or pasta of choice and stir a bit to prevent sticking. In a saute pan over high heat, add generous amounts of good olive oil, then some sliced cherry or grape tomatoes and let them sizzle a bit. Add some chopped homemade semi-dried tomatoes or if you don’t have those, some chopped soft sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil. You will need to eyeball amount of ingredients to dress your pasta appropriately…

Next I added some red chili flakes, some flaked homemade tuna and stirred for about 15 seconds, just to warm the tuna through. Take this off the heat, season with salt and pepper and added some chopped Italian parsley. Drain the cooked pasta and add it to the sauce in the pan and stir to coat the pasta. You may need to add a little pasta water to prevent this from drying out too much. Also, add some more good olive oil if necessary. The dressing should flavor the pasta, but NOT DROWN it.

The fresh tomatoes (which are as good as they get in Manila) were half-cooked and just wilted, the semi-dried tomatoes added intensity and another textural level to the dish, and the tuna was fresh, light and homemade! The dish is quite healthy and incredibly quick and easy to make. Perfect for a hot summer’s day. And one other way to use my bounty of homemade tuna!