Driving lessons

If you want to be thoroughly entertained for eight minutes, watch this short film: "Shanti Rides Shotgun." This is one of the most New York things ever, in a good way. [I tried to embed the Vimeo video here, but Google's crappy blogger platform was having none of it.]

 

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This recipe will have limited appeal for most of you, but it's a winner for me when I'm cooking for myself. I love a good tuna pasta, so I whipped this one up the most recent time I was on my own for dinner. So easy and so good.

Bachelor Pad Tuna Pasta

with (or without) Capers

Time: ~21 minutes

1 tablespoon fine sea salt
227 grams (8 ounces) pasta, such as spaghetti, rotini, whatever
40 grams (3 tablespoons) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 garlic cloves, sliced thin
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 (5- or 6-ounce) can of tuna, drained
1 tablespoon capers, optional but much better with if you like capers
¼ cup grated Parmesan or pecorino Romano cheese, plus more for serving

    1. Bring ~2½ quarts (10 cups) of water to a roiling boil in a stockpot or large saucepan over high heat. Stir in the salt until dissolved. Add the pasta and stir a few times during the first minute or two to keep it from sticking. Cook until just al dente. Drain, reserving a mugful of the pasta cooking water.
    2. Meanwhile, place the oil, garlic, and red pepper in a small saucepan and set over medium-low heat. Cook until the garlic is bubbling around the edges and starting to take on some color but not browning. Stir in the tuna and capers, and keep over a low heat while the pasta cooks.
    3. Return the cooked pasta to the pot. Scrape in the contents of the small saucepan, together with about ¼ cup of the reserved pasta cooking water. Off heat, stir in the grated cheese and keep stirring until it is completely melted and the sauce is emulsified, adding more pasta cooking water as needed to get a creamy consistency. Serve promptly, with a drizzle of oil and more grated cheese on top. Serves 2-ish.