yellowfin tuna spaghetti puttanescaSERVES 2
Angela was one of the first major female chefs in London. The number, at long last, is on the rise. But for much of the last twenty years, it was just Ruth Rogers, the late Rose Gray, Sally Clarke, Skye Gyngell, and Angela. The circle was indeed a tiny one, though it was also a very influential one. Angela’s cooking is perhaps the most classic, if also—at Murano—the most elaborate . The food there is the kind of highly refined Italian that makes tossing a bowl of pasta with pesto seem almost savage. It is extraordinarily good. But at the more informal Café Murano, Angela lets down her guard and the food is livelier. This spicy, fiery puttanesca is paired with a beautiful confit of yellowfin tuna. Capers and olives give heat and texture, while the confit offers silken luxury.
1 (7-ounce) fillet yellowfin tuna
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
14 ounces canned whole San Marzano tomatoes, chopped
5 salt-packed anchovies, rinsed and patted dry
20 capers, rinsed
3 pinches of dried red chile flakes
Salt and pepper, to taste
Aromatics, to taste (fresh bay leaves, thyme, rosemary, and garlic)
Vegetable oil, for cooking
12 ounces dried spaghetti
10 black olives, pitted and chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1⁄2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Warm the olive oil in a large skillet or saucepan over a medium-low heat. Add 2 of the garlic cloves and sauté until golden, but not brown.
Add the tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the anchovies, capers, and chiles, and simmer for 5 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper and set aside, off heat.
Place the whole piece of tuna in another saucepan with a high rim and cover with aromatics. Pour in enough vegetable oil to completely cover the tuna. To confit the tuna, bring the oil to a simmer over low heat and gently cook until it flakes easily.
Transfer the tuna to a cutting board. Discard the vegetable oil.
Cook the spaghetti in generously salted water until al dente.
Reserve 1⁄4 cup of the tomato sauce and set aside. Add the just-drained spaghetti to the pan with the remaining tomato sauce and toss over medium heat for 30 seconds or so.
Divide the pasta between two wide, warmed bowls. Cut the tuna in half and place a half atop each serving of pasta. Spoon the reserved tomato sauce over the top. Scatter with the black olives and parsley, and garnish with a grind of black pepper and a bit of the grated Parmesan. Serve immediately with the remaining Parmesan, if so desired.
Copyright © 2016 by Aleksandra Crapanzano. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
