I love to cook Italian. It’s easy, simple, rustic cooking. It’s just natural for me which is odd since I’m only a quarter Italian (I look and sound way more than that though). My relatives are from Bari, Italy. It’s a coastal town right at the ankle of the heel of the boot. While they grow a ton of tomatoes there, they are on the water and fish is a big deal there too. So when I was pressed to come up with a name for this pasta dish, I named it “Pasta from Bari” because it’s simple, rustic, and something they would totally eat there.
This recipe was adapted from a recipe found in the All You magazine. I changed it up enough that it’s in fact mine. Mine looks better than theirs too. 🙂
Penne di Bari
2014-04-02 15:40:22
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried penne
- 1 5-ounce can tuna packed in water, drained well
- 1 15-ounce can of cannellini beans*, drained & rinsed well
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup grated pecorino romano* cheese
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- salt
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Cook pasta until al dente according to directions (usually about 11 minutes for penne).
- While pasta is cooking, put drained tuna into a bowl.
- Flake the tuna gently.
- Add beans & the basil.
- Stir, taking care not to crush the beans.
- Add 1/2 cup of boiling water (you can use the pasta water).
- Stir gently.
- Drain pasta and return to the pot. Add the tuna mixture as well as up to 1/2 cup of olive oil.
- Toss gently.
- Add most of the cheese (saving some to sprinkle on top for presentation). and gently stir again.
- Scoop into plates and top with a bit more grated cheese.
Notes
- Tip: Cannellini beans are also knows and Great Northern beans or white beans.
- Tip: We prefer Locatelli which is a Pecorino Romano cheese (it's a hard, salty goat cheese - similar to Parmesan cheese which is a less salty, more subtle cow's milk cheese people are more used to here in America).
- Tip: For a lighter, summer fare - to the tuna mixture add 2 tablespoons of chopped capers and 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice. Capers are pickled buds of a caper plant. They are very popular in Italian cooking and add a distinct flavor similar to olives. The lemon juice lightens the flavors and works well with the tuna.
- Tip: For a veggie boost, try adding halved cherry tomatoes to the dish! Simple heat in a small amount of olive oil and then gently stir in. Adds a great pop of color as well.
Food Geek Mom https://www.foodgeekmom.com/
