If you are new to this blog, please read my Welcome Note first...
Food recipes are like the people who share it with you...they each have a story...and some stories are way more touching than others...hence some of the recipes stick to my head...
And every time I cook this I remember Fatima...Fatima was a Tunisian woman I met ages ago in some mosque in Paris...she had an incredibly beautiful smile, she was kind, stood by my side when the world - the Dunya overtook me - and she also taught me this simple recipe...
She came from a very poor family from Tunisia, a family of Fishermen. Her dad was a fisherman, and she told me that on the days he did not manage to catch any fish, which were often, he'd just ask his wife to open a can of tuna and pretend their dad caught one for dinner...
Fatima knew all along that it was just a can of tuna...but she nonetheless congratulated her father for his great catch...
Fatima taught me this recipe...and I remember her telling me -- when you don't have anything to eat, make sure you have at least some pasta and a can of tuna...
Many years have passed since I met Fatima...I am not sure what happened to her...I heard that she got married to a fisherman and maybe she's still smiling that incredibly beautiful smile of hers and pretending like she used to...
This is Fatima's recipe.
Pasta in Tuna Fish sauce.
For 2 persons:
- about 250 - 300 grs of macaroni
- a big can of tuna fish, in salted water (preferable)
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 tbs of tomato paste
- 1 tbs of olive oil
- 1 small onion
- 1/2 tsp of origano /Italian thyme (optional but preferable)
- 1/2 cube of vegetable stock
Tuna Fish sauce
- slice onions and crushed garlic and stir in olive oil
- add tomato paste, salt and pepper (if you use vegetable stock do not add salt)
- add about 1/3 cup of vegetable stock diluted in hot water and let it boil once until the sauce thickens
-strain your canned tuna and add it to your sauce, let it heat up to point of boiling ONCE.
- add your Origano herb. I like aroma, so I am generous with the Origano
meanwhile...
- boil your macaroni, I usually add a cube of vegetable stock to the water and some olive oil
once macaroni are cooked to your liking, strain and add your tuna fish sauce on top...mix well.
Decorate with some chopped parsley.
