Pasta Puttanesca or Working Girl’s Pasta

Jamie’s Dinners
Serves 4

Ingredients:
A handful of fresh basil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Extra virgin olive oil
Two 8-ounce tuna steaks, chopped into bite-size chunks, or 2 cans of good-quality tuna, drained
14 ounces penne or spaghetti
8 anchovy fillets
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 handfuls of soaked capers
A handful of black olives, pitted and roughly chopped
1 to 3 small dried chiles, crumbled to your taste, or 1 fresh red chile, deseeded and finely sliced
2 handfuls of really ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
Optional: a swig of white wine
A handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Smash the basil to a pulp with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add the lemon zest and juice and 2 good lugs of extra virgin olive oil. Mix this up and either rub over your chopped-up fresh tuna or mix with your broken-up canned tuna and allow to marinate.

Get a large pan of salted boiling water on and cook the pasta according to the package instructions. As soon as you put the pasta on, put 3 or 4 good lugs of extra virgin olive oil into a large frying pan and put on the heat. As the pan starts to get warm, add your anchovy fillets and allow them to fry and melt. At this point add your garlic, capers, olives, and chili and stir around for a couple of minutes. If you have used fresh tuna, add it to the pan now with all of the marinating juices and sear it on both sides. When done, add the tomatoes and a little swig of white wine if you have some. If you have used canned tuna, add it to the pan at the same time as the tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then simmer for around 5 minutes, stirring regularly with a spoon, breaking the tuna up into smaller pieces. What you don’t want to do is overcook the tuna so it goes tough. You want it to be soft and silky. Correct the seasoning carefully with salt and pepper.

The pasta should now be ready, so drain it in a colander, reserving some of the cooking liquid. Toss the hot pasta with the hot tuna sauce, add the parsley, and mix well. You may need a few more lugs of olive oil and a spoonful of cooking water to make the sauce nice and loose.

One of my go-to recipes for good wholesome seafood pasta.

Rosemary chicken with tomatoes

From BBC More One-pot Recipes
Serves 4
Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 rosemary sprig, leaves finely chopped
1 red onion , finely sliced
3 garlic cloves , sliced
2 anchovy fillets, chopped
400g can chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp capers , drained
75ml red wine (optional)

Heat half the oil in a non-stick pan, then brown the chicken all over. Add half the chopped rosemary, stir to coat, then set aside on a plate.

In the same pan, heat the rest of the oil, then gently cook the onion for about 5 mins until soft. Add the garlic, anchovies and remaining rosemary, then fry for a few mins more until fragrant. Pour in the tomatoes and capers with the wine, if using, or 75ml water if not. Bring to the boil, then return the chicken pieces to the pan.

Cover, then cook for 20 mins until the chicken is cooked through. Season and serve with a crisp green salad and crusty bread.

I know. I know. Yet another chicken and tomato casserole recipe!

Salade Niçoise

BBC GoodFood 101 Mediterranean Dishes
Serves 4
Ingredients

5tbsp olive oil, plus a little extra for frying and drizzling
2tsp finely chopped fresh oregano
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
16 new potatoes, halved
100g green beans
4 X 100g fresh tuna steaks
handful of black olives, pitted
8 anchovy fillets, thinly sliced in strips
16 cherry tomatoes
4 small eggs, soft boiled, halved
grated parmesan, to serve

Whisk the five tbsp of olive oil with the oregano and enough of lemon juice to taste, in a large bowl. Season, set aside

Cook the potatoes in boiling, salted water for 10 minutes or until tender, adding the beans for the last 4 minutes . Drain well and toss well while warm in the dressing.

Heat a little oil in a large frying pan. Add the tuna and fry over a high heat for 2-3 minutes on each side. Add the olives, anchovies and tomatoes to the potatoes and gently toss. Scatter the salad over four plates, top with the tuna, eggs, Parmesan and a drizzle of oil.