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ITALIAN RECIPES

Pasta with Fish Sauce

Spaghetti with Tuna Sauce

Ingredients:

3/4 pound (350 g) spaghetti
1 or 2 2-ounce (50 g) cans of tuna packed in oil, drained
1 to 1.5 cups (250-375 ml) chunky tomato sauce
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup (60 ml) olive oil
A red pepper, shredded
1 to 2 teaspoons salted capers, rinsed and chopped, or salt to taste
A handful of basil leaves, coarsely minced

Preparation:

Set pasta water to heat, salt it when it boils, and cook the pasta, draining it when it's al dente. In the meantime, heat the olive oil and sauté the garlic and the hot pepper for a couple o minutes, being careful not to let the garlic burn.

Crumble the tuna into the pot, and stir in the tomatoes and the capers. After a minute check seasoning; reduce the heat to low and simmer the sauce until the pasta is done. Garnish the pasta with the shredded basil and serve at once.

This could work nicely as a one-course meal with a tossed salad. If you instead want a second course, a grilled fish would be quite nice, again accompanied by a tossed salad.
The wine? A good Soave.
Serves 4.

Salmon with Walnut-Parsley Pesto over Rye Pasta

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb salmon fillets
Salt
1 lb pasta, such as tagliatelle
Juice of one lemon
4 chopped garlic cloves
1 T grated parmesan cheese
4 T chopped parsley
3 T finely chopped walnuts
3 T high quality olive oil
2 T regular olive oil

Preparation:

Start by making the pesto. I do this with a mortar and pestle, but if you don't want to do this, you can use a food processor with decent results.
First add the chopped garlic and a pinch of salt, then top with the chopped parsley. Pound this well for a minute or two.

Add the walnuts and grated cheese and pound this until you get a thick paste, about 2-3 minutes. Add one tablespoon at a time of the high-quality olive oil, pounding and mixing all the time, until the paste loosens enough to be tossed with pasta. You might need to add an extra tablespoon.
Skin your salmon fillets and salt them well. Set them aside.

Boil a large kettle of water, and add a palmful of salt. Once your water is boiling and the pasta is in, heat the regular olive oil in a large frying pan set on high heat.
Lay the salmon fillets gently down on the hot oil and immediately turn the heat down to medium-high. Let them sizzle for at least 2 minutes -- more if they are thick. After 2-4 minutes, shake the pan. If the fillets release, flip them. If not, wait another minute or two. Be sure to cook the salmon all the way through; rare salmon is delicious, but not in this recipe.

If you are using canned or smoked salmon, just flake it out into morsels.
When the salmon is done, set aside to cool a little. As soon as you can stand it, flake the meat out and put it in a large bowl. Add a dollop of the pesto and mix.

Add the cooked pasta and mix well. Add the rest of the pesto and mix gently until everything is incorporated.
When you serve, pour or squeeze a little lemon juice on each serving right before you bring it to the table.
Serves 4.

Linguine with Clam Sauce

Ingredients:

2 lb small clams in the shell
1 small can of clams
1 small chopped onion
3 chopped garlic cloves
3 T olive oil
1 T oregano
1 t ground fennel seeds
2 T chopped parsley
1 large can of tomato sauce
2 T tomato paste
Salt
Pinch of sugar
1 lb linguine

Preparation:

Put the heat on a large kettle of water and add a palmful of salt.
Heat the olive oil in a large, deep-sided saute pan over high heat and add the onions. Once they are sizzling, turn the heat down to medium and saute them until they just begin to turn color.

Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Add the tomato paste and the oregano and fennel seed and the juice from the can of clams. Mix well and bring to a simmer. Let this cook down until it is thick.
Add the crushed tomatoes and the pinch of sugar. Taste it, and add salt if needed. Let this simmer for 10 minutes.

The pasta water should be boiling, so add your linguine.
Once the linguine is boiling, add the fresh and canned clams to the sauce, mix to combine and cover the pot. Turn the heat up to medium-high and let the clams steam open, about 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes, check to see if most of the clams have opened. Once they have, uncover the pot and turn the heat all the way up to high. You want to steam off as much liquid as you can while the linguine finishes. Shake the pot and stir often to prevent sticking.
Drain the pasta and turn off the heat on the pot. Pick out any clams that have not opened and discard.

Now you have a choice: Serve the clams in the shell (be sure to provide a bowl for them!) or pick out the meats. I pick out the meats for all but one clam per diner, and I use that one clam as a garnish.
To serve, toss the linguine with the sauce, top with the chopped parsley and one clam in its shell.
Serves 4.

Buon appetito!

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