Papardelle with Salmon and Tuna

Exactly one month since my last post here...Oh dear... Is anyone still out there?

Meals have been pretty simple at our place, mainly due to the heat over the last month. I do have a small pile of recipes next to the computer waiting to be typed up. I have also been playing around with a few family style recipes which I hope to share with you soon. I have discovered that if food comes in the form of a patty, be it beef, pork, chicken or fish, there are no complaints. There is no seven year old screaming 'yuck,' before the plate hits the table, there is no six year old, pushing her plate away in disgust after just two bites. Yes, it's only taken me eight years to find this out, but patties are the answer.

But today I share with you a different kind of recipe. I'll be honest, my kids did not want to eat this. But I find that their tastes change like the wind. One day pasta can cause excitement, on other days it just doesn't.

I think this recipe originally came from a Vogue Entertaining Magazine, I don't think that I changed it much. I hand wrote it into my, 'at the time' recipe book, after the very first time I cooked it. It was made for friends for a mid-week, after work dinner party (remember those!) about 15 years ago. It went down a hit. It is quick, but impressive. It is fairly rich, but very yummy, I imagine eating it for lunch, under large trees on a perfect summers day, a simple green salad on the side and a glass of white wine in my hand. Having said that, is tasted pretty good on a rainy Tuesday night last week, at home, with the kids and the last of the shiraz.

 
Pappardelle with Salmon and Tuna

serves 4

• 400 grams pappardelle pasta

• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1 salmon fillet- approximately 200 grams (cut into tiny cubes)
• 1 x 250 gram punnet cherry tomatoes (halved)
• 1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
• 1 red chilli (finely chopped)
• 1 teaspoon anchovies (finely chopped)
• 1 x 140 gram tin tuna (drained and flaked)
• 1 cup tomato passata or pureed tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon basil leaves (torn)
• salt and pepper to taste

to serve

• extra basil leaves 
• grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Bring the water to the boil and cook the pasta until al dente.
 
Meanwhile, heat 1/4 cup of oil in a pan and quickly saute the salmon and cherry tomatoes. Once cooked, remove from the pan and keep warm. Add the remaining oil to the pan and heat. Saute the garlic, chilli and anchovies, then add the tuna, tomato passata and torn basil. Heat through. Just before serving, return the salmon and cherry tomatoes back to the pan an mix well. Toss through the cooked pasta and serve topped with the extra basil leaves.