angel hair pasta with tuna and beech mushroom

The LAM and I usually go out for dinner on Saturdays but the rest of the brood still need to be fed. I try to cook something that my helper can simply heat up and feed everyone at dinner time, and pastas are usually something I would turn to because they are so versatile and quick to prepare, and they keep really well.

I recently gave my mom my spare fridge because she needed one, and a friend had a fridge to give away, so I ended up with a bigger fridge in which I can store all my baking stuff and other bits and bobs that I use on a less regular basis. :)

So the fridge arrived and after things were organised (by the very efficient helper), I opened the fridge for an inspection test, and the first thing I saw was a tub of left-over tuna.

Since I am really big on using up stuff, I decided it would be a tuna-based pasta dinner for that evening. Rummaging through my kitchen fridge, I found a tub of bunashimeiji. If you are a follower of my blog, you would know that I am crazy about these little beech mushrooms and I always seem to buy too many tubs. It looked like a tuna and mushroom pasta dish was definitely on the menu.

I diced an onion, and sliced a few chillis. I also cut off the roots of the mushrooms and set them aside. Since I use store-bought minced garlic, that was all the prep involved.

Whenever I use flaky fish to cook a (long) pasta dish, I would always choose to use angel hair pasta. I am sure the dish would also work with linguine or spaghetti, I really do think that it tastes better with a thinner pasta. In addition, angel hair pasta cooks in 2 minutes. I mean, it is almost a case of drop the pasta in the water, count to ten, and fish them out again. Perfect!

In my skillet, I heated some extra virgin olive oil. Into that, I sauteed the onion for about 3-4 minutes, or until they softened and become translucent. I added the chilli and continued stirring for a minute or so. Then the minced garlic was added, followed by the mushrooms. I also added some salt and pepper at this stage.

The tuna was added to the skillet, and stirred to combine. At this stage, I also cooked the pasta.

Once done, the pasta was drained and added to the rest of the ingredients. I saved some pasta waster before I drained the pasta, and I added a little of this water to the pasta before I tossed everything using a pair of tongs.

If the dish is to be served at a later time, reserve more pasta water for the heating up process as the pasta will dry out over time.

In true Jaime Oliver style, dish the pasta, garnish with chopped Italian parsley, drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over the top, and eat!

Buon Appetito!

RECIPE
Angle Hair with Tuna and Beech Mushroom (Serves 4)

Ingredients:
120-150g angel hair pasta, or any pasta of your choice
500g tuna
1 tub beech mushroom, roots removed (or any mushroom you prefer)
3 large chillis, deseeded and sliced
1/2 onion, diced
2 tsp mince garlic
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp grounded black pepper
Some Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Extra-virgin olive oil - use the best you have

Method:
1. Saute the diced onion in a skillet in heated oil until they soften and turn translucent, about 3-4 minutes.
2. Add chilli and continue to stir for about a minute or so.
3. Add garlic, mushroom, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
4. Add tuna, and carefully stir to mix.
5. Cook pasta, reserve some pasta water, drain the pasta and add pasta to the rest of the ingredients.
6. Using a pair of tongs, toss the pasta with the other ingredients.
7. Garnish with chopped parsley and drizzle with a little extra-virgin olive oil before serving.