Blond Puttanesca

I'm a steak lover, through and through. Fish? Not so much. When I was a little kid, I got a walleye bone stuck in my throat and that episode totally turned me off to all fish with bones. I'm happy as a clam to consume aquatic shelled mollusks or crustaceans. But not fish. Well, with one exception.

I am hopelessly addicted to Cento tuna. It is, without a doubt, the best tasting tuna on earth. I buy it by the case and use it on salads and pasta dishes every chance I get. It's cooked in extra virgin olive oil and then packed in cans with extra virgin olive oil. That results in a bigger tuna flavor and firmer texture than tuna cooked and packed in water. Garlic, anchovies and capers come together to make this extraordinary Blond Puttanesca. And Cento tuna puts it right over the top! Added bonus: no bones.


Ingredients
12 ounces spaghetti
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
10 anchovies, chopped
3 tablespoons capers
5 ounces baby arugula
1, 5-ounce can Cento tuna
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
Fresh ground pepper
Flaky sea salt
Lemon wedges, for serving


Directions

1. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until it is just under al dente, about 7 minutes. Drain, reserving 1-1/2 cups of the pasta cooking water.
2. While pasta cooks, make the sauce: Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add garlic and red-pepper flakes and cook until garlic is pale golden, about 1 minute. Add anchovies and capers and cook until anchovies have melted and capers begin to brown slightly, about 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Turn heat to medium. Ladle 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water into the skillet and bring mixture to a simmer. Cook until mixture is reduced by about half, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add in arugula and ladle in an additional 1/2 cup of pasta water, tossing together until wilted. Increase heat to medium-high and scoop pasta directly in to the skillet tossing with sauce until well coated. Add tuna to pasta and toss again until it is just warmed just through, about 1 minute. Ladle in an additional 1/4 cup pasta water or more, to loosen up sauce and toss again. Sprinkle parsley over pasta and toss again. Season with salt and pepper. 
4. Serve in bowls, with flaky salt, a squeeze of lemon, additional parsley and some more red-pepper flakes, if desired.

Wine pairing: An Italian Barbera

Grogs and Goldie, 1956