Today’s makeshift dinner: Pasta with Tuna and Peas

Sounds gross eh? Like something out of a terrible childhood memory. That, or something British.

So I had a dining dilemma tonight. I had pasta, but no packaged ragu/alfredo/vodka/rose sauce. Not even canned cream of mushroom or parmesan to use. What to do? I had a steaming colander of cheese tortellini waiting to be seasoned. So I dug up:

• olive oil
• shallots, minced
• garlic, minced
• capers, drained and rinsed
• tuna in olive oil (that I had been saving up for my nicoise salad)
• frozen peas

1. Heat up the olive oil on  medium heat – you don’t want the garlic and shallots to burn easily. You want a bit more olive oil than usual because the warm oil is to coat the pasta as well.
2. Sautee garlic, shallots and capers.
3. Add drained tuna – break up with fork/spatula.
4. Toss in defrosted peas.
5. Toss with pasta, top with pepper

Quite tasty, though it could be much improved. If you have any suggestions let me know in the comments!

Note: try to use deep fried capers next time

Homemade Salsa

Want to whip up something healthy for when guests come over? Hate that overprocessed salsa in the jar? Well I was inspired by the peppers episode from Chef at Home with Michael Smith to chop and combine a delicious homemade southwestern salsa. Play with the ingredients, substitute with organics, everything to taste – and that’s why there are no measurements in my recipe!

• Tomatoes – cubed or chopped coarsely but still bite sized. I used a combo of tomatoes I found at my neighbourhood grocer – steakhouse, roma and hothouse. UPDATE: Use all romas for best flavour – maybe toss in a few heritage ones for colour.

• Onion – diced a bit more finely. I prefer to use red, but use what you will.

• Cilantro – Michael Smith said that this was the core of Southwestern cooking. Chopped finely.

• Poblano Pepper – diced finely. A mild chili pepper from Mexico – gives it a bit of a bite, without the fire. When dried, this is the Ancho chili. Start with 1/3 of the pepper, then add more if you want it spicier. I got mine at Whole Foods – they have a pretty good selection of peppers. Well they should, as they’re based in Texas!

• Lime – all of the lime peel (grated, thank you) and lime juice. Tip: to get the most juice from your lime, microwave it for 10 seconds. Start with 5 if you have a powerful microwave or else you’ll be burned (from experience).

• Seasonings – sea salt and freshly ground pepper – The salt makes all the difference! Be liberal with it! And pepper to taste.

UPDATE (1 hour later)

As per usual, I decided to up the recipe. Added:

• 1 spring onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp virgin olive oil – to make it more smooth <– or less
• 1/2 teaspoon of Agave syrup, for a bit of sweetness
• and more sea salt

Eat with nachos (I prefer the local Que Pasa corn nacho chips) or Jalapeno Cheese bread from Save on Foods bakery