Sparking joy, episode IV

One of my latest dives into the psychological literature was Chatter, a 2021 book by Ethan Kross, a professor in the University of Michigan’s psychology department and its business school. To quote the subtitle, the book is about "the voice in our head, why it matters, and how to harness it." Throughout the book, Kross offers a variety of tools we can use to harness the voice in our head instead of letting it derail us. I've discussed some of the tools before, including getting out in nature and using "distanced self-talk," that is, talking to yourself in the second ("you") or third person ("Paul") to gain some psychological distance from your problems.

 

I'm happy to say that Kross also reports that there is a scientific basis for the joy sparkage that comes from some Marie Kondo-style decluttering. Researchers have found that ordering our surroundings creates "perceptions of control—the belief that we possess the ability to impact the world in ways we desire"—which ends up having all sorts of psychological benefits, including improved physical health and emotional well-being, better performance at work and school, and more satisfying interpersonal relationships. Wow, all that just from cleaning up your desk or getting the excess crap off the dump-zone surfaces in your house.

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While trying out some of the no-recipe recipes I bookmarked in Cooking at Home, I've appreciated David Chang's fondness for time- and energy-saving devices like the microwave or a blender for making sauces. I made his recipe for cacio e pepe using a NutriBullet and it was quick and easy and one of the few times I've ever pulled it off without the cheese clumping, despite trying a number of supposedly "foolproof" recipes.

 

Mom and I liked this sauce, which I also made with the NutriBullet, even better. This is Chang's riff on tonnato, which is a classic Italian sauce made by pureeing tuna with olive oil and other things. We were surprised at how mild the tuna flavor was, and I now see why the sauce pairs well with roasted vegetables, as in Joshua McFadden's charred broccoli with tonnato. In addition to tasting great, you can get all of the prep work done, and make the sauce, in the time it takes to boil the water and cook the pasta, so it's a good weeknight meal.

Tuna Pasta Salad

Adapted from Cooking at Home (2021) by David Chang and Priya Krishna

 

Time: ~30 minutes

 

The original recipe calls for a raw egg yolk in the sauce, which is a tiny bit risky for salmonella, and ovaphobic Mom was having none of a raw egg anyway, so I substituted an equal amount of mayo, which worked great.

 

1 to 2 tablespoons fine sea salt

1 pound rotini or tubular pasta

1 medium red, orange, or yellow bell pepper

2 or 3 celery stalks, depending how big they are

2 or 3 scallions, depending how big they are, dark and light green parts only

a handful of parsley

For the sauce

1 (5-ounce) can of good-quality tuna (such as Wild Planet) packed in olive oil (don't drain)

2 tablespoons or more of extra-virgin olive oil

1 egg yolk or an equal amount (20 grams) of mayonnaise (see note)

1 garlic clove, microwaved for 10 to 15 seconds if you're not wild about the taste of raw garlic

a few good splashes of rice vinegar

a few pinches of kosher or fine sea salt

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

a pinch of mushroom powder if you have any (don't make it just for this)

pasta cooking water as needed (at least a few tablespoons)

 

To serve 

extra-virgin olive oil

lemon or lime wedges

    1. Bring 4 quarts of water to a roiling boil in a large, covered stockpot over high heat. Stir in the fine sea salt until dissolved. Add the pasta and stir a few times during the first minute or two to keep it from sticking. Cook until tender (for pasta salad, you actually want to go a little past the usual al dente to take advantage of the process of retrogradation). Drain, reserving a mugful of the pasta cooking water.

    2. While the pasta water is coming to a boil, you'll have plenty of time to prepare the veggies: cut the bell pepper and celery into fine dice, and slice the scallions thinly on the bias. Chop the parsley as well.

    3. While the pasta is cooking, you'll have plenty of time to make the sauce. Place all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender (a bullet-style blender works great for this job). Blend until smooth, adding pasta cooking water as needed to get a thick, saucy consistency; you’ll probably need at least a few tablespoons. Taste and adjust the seasonings.

    4. When the pasta is cooked and drained in your colander, run cold water over it until it's cooled to room temperature. Drain and transfer to a serving bowl. Add the veggies and sauce, and toss everything together until evenly coated. Serve each bowl with a drizzle of oil and a squeeze of lemon or lime. Serves 4.