Today, I had the great privilege and opportunity to attend a cooking class hosted by the extraordinary Mollie Ahlstrand of Trattoria Mollie in Montecito, California (full disclosure: Mollie’s is our favorite restaurant in town!).
OK, even fuller disclosure: the cooking class was held at the beach. See what I mean about being the luckiest girl alive? I mean, Really.
Hope you enjoy this easy breezy, Silver Lining recipe. I can’t wait to make it for Finally Five and the HOTY!
Mollie’s Fusilli al Tonno
Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- “A little chopped garlic” (Translation: 1 clove)
- Flaked red pepper
- 1/4 cup white onion
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 can of BLiS Tuna. By the way, Mollie introduced me to BLiS Albacore Tuna. Wow. Wow. Wow. Their American troll-caught tuna, in natural and jalapeno flavors, is hand packed and prepared carefully to retain natural juices and its distinctive, tender texture. Plus, it is DELISH.What’s more (& what I appreciate most!), BLiS troll-caught albacore tuna is harvested with fishing techniques that are environmentally sustainable. And, because they pack the smaller juvenile fish, their product contains dramatically lower levels of pollutants compared to the larger, mature tuna that are the preferred catch of major commercial fisheries (Silver Lining).
Instructions:
- In a pan, sauté the olive oil, garlic, flaked pepper, white onion, cherry tomatoes, and white wine (in that order). Add the tuna.
- Boil salted (about 2 tbsp of kosher salt) water. Add fusilli pasta. I tend to really like the whole grain variety.
- Cook until al dente (about 10 minutes).
- Transfer pasta directly from boiling salted water to the olive oil (etc.) mix. This is KEY. Do not drain the pasta. Take the pasta directly from that salted water and add it to the sauté pan.
- When thoroughly mixed, add parsley on top and a little extra virgin olive oil.
- Eat and enjoy!
A recipe has no soul. You, as the cook, must bring soul to the recipe.
~Thomas Keller