The (lazy) weekend nurse

My mom just had a procedure done (I swear it wasn't because of something I cooked) so it was either leftover hospital food or fast food for me over the weekend. But I do have a recipe to post - something which I didn't get to blog about a couple of Saturdays ago.

My source (pineygrovehomebrew.blogspot.com.. thank you!) simply calls it Tuna Pasta and it's so easy so I thought I'd give it a try. Here's a recipe that serves two:

125 grams pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 head of native garlic
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tuna in water
capers
chopped parsley
salt and pepper

- Cook pasta till it's al dente. There should be instructions on the pasta box/pack. If you don't see any, don't buy it. I used fusilli on this dish for aesthetic and utilitarian reasons - they're cute and bits of the sauce cling well to it. Now I'm not sure if there's a hard and fast rule to choosing pasta but I think chunky sauces go well with more complicated pasta shapes.

- Heat olive oil, saute garlic until it's translucent.

- Throw in the tomatoes. I used Hunts, which I later found to be a bit too sour for my taste. Fresh ripe ones always rock but I forgot to grab some while I was at the supermarket.

- Add chopped parsley. I had some basil leaves in the fridge but I chose to stick to the parsley bit, which wasn't so bad because its freshness kinda offset the preserved sourness of the tomatoes.

- Pop in the capers.

- Season with salt and pepper.

I bought a pack of slivered almonds a few weeks ago. It was meant for truffles but I haven't had a chance to make another batch and I've been dying to use the nuts so I decided to toast some and topped my pasta with it. So not only was the pasta chunky, it was a little crunchy and nutty as well!

Now I did mention going to the supermarket before making the pasta. While I was there, I finally had the courage to go up to the deli and get some cheese and cold cuts. I got this little treasure box for only P160!

I don't exactly remember which is which but the list from the lady at the Galileo Enoteca Deli counter says...

Cheese:

- Fontalpe (soft.. rather ordinary-tasting cheese)

- Provolone (I asked for the stronger kind of cheeses and this was one of the lady's suggestions - I wasn't disappointed)

- Grana Padano (true to its name, it is kinda grainy and it has some hint of citrus in it, which I found rather surprising and interesting)

About the cold cuts.. You'll have to forgive me. I checked the website of Galileo Enoteca to make sure but the names just don't quite match up. Basically, I got:

- Spianata

- Pharma (I don't think there should be an H there but the lady..... heheh)

- Sacame-something.. I can't read her handwriting. :D

Anyhoo, I made a promise to go back to the deli and get everything right. Maybe I'll even come up with a proper review, not that I'm an expert on Italian meats. Oh, but I do love these things. I paired up this batch with a bottle of 2007 Hardy's Chardonnay.

Yum!