Recipe: Friday Night Spaghetti with Tuna and Black Olives (Spaghetti del Venerdi Sera) (

FRIDAY NIGHT SPAGHETTI WITH TUNA AND BLACK OLIVES (SPAGHETTI DEL VENERDI SERA)

2 large cloves garlic
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tightly packed tablespoons fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 (6 ounce) can tuna packed in olive oil, lightly drained
1/8 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound spaghetti
1/3 cup oil-cured black olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
6 quarts boiling salted water
1 tablespoon vinegar-packed capers, drained
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium red onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 oil-packed anchovy fillets, rinsed and chopped

Chop the garlic, parsley, and salt in a food processor. Or mound the salt in a small pile near the edge of a cutting board. Crush the garlic into it with the side of a knife blade. Add the parsley and chop everything fine.

Drop the spaghetti into fiercely boiling water and cook until it's a little firmer than you'd like it. Quickly measure out about 1 1/4 cups of the pasta water and set aside. Drain the spaghetti in a colander.

As the pasta cooks, heat the oil in a 1 1/2-inch saute pan over medium-high heat. Stir in the garlic-parsley mixture and half the onion. Saute until the onion is beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Don't brown the garlic.

Blend in 1/4 cup of reserved pasta water and cook to nothing.

Stir in the anchovies and tomato paste, along with about 1/3 cup of the reserved pasta water. Continue stirring over medium heat 1 minute.

Blend in the tuna, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Cook another minute, adding a little pasta water if there's no moisture in the pan. Remove from the heat.

If the sauce has dried up, stir in enough pasta water to moisten the bottom of the pan. Toss in the drained pasta, the remaining red onion, the olives, and capers. Toss over medium heat a few minutes to thoroughly cloak the spaghetti with sauce. Taste for seasoning and serve hot. No cheese is needed for this dish.

Cook to Cook:
"A generous amount of pasta water plays three roles in sauce. A little added to the garlic saute helps to finish cooking the garlic while protecting it from burning. A little more added later dilutes the tomato paste and anchovy mixture, actually turning the saute into a sauce. Finally, once the tuna is in the pan, a few more tablespoons of pasta water assure that the sauce will cloak the spaghetti, not remain dried up on the bottom of the saute pan."

Wine suggestion: A crisp white Frascati Superiore like Fontana Candida Santa Teresa, Conte Zandotti's, or Casale Marchese's

Servings: 6 to 8 as first course; 4 as main dish
Source: The Italian Country Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper