I bought a packet of dried orecchiette and waited for inspiration to strike.
Then Paul said he wanted tuna steaks and I knew which direction to go. I decided on a version of the classic orecchiette with broccoli and anchovies, but using much more broccoli than pasta, and serving the tuna steak on top.
I boiled the pasta, and a couple of minutes before it was done, I added tender-stem broccoli (which is known as broccolini in Australia) cut into pieces. Then I drained them, and in the pan sauteed a couple of chopped anchovy fillets, a lot of garlic and a couple of chillies. Before the garlic took any colour, I added the pasta and broccoli back to the pan and added the zest and juice of a lemon, and a big handful of chopped parsley, and tossed it all together. Meanwhile, Paul was cooking the tuna steaks in a hot cast iron pan with a splash of oil and a bit of simple seasoning.
8 comments:
What a great combination - that's my favourite cut of pasta and the tuna sounds lovely!
Donna Leon has a funny description of trying to learn to make orecchetti. Her friend ended up recommending Barilla!
It is a nice change from other pasta shapes and works really well with vegetable sauces.
I love how this dish is almost tuna and broccoli with pasta instead of the converse. Looks so tasty!
This looks like a fabulous dinner to me. What a wonderful salad you've put together!
I must find the Donna Leon's story your mother mentions. I am glad my little post on orecchiette inspired you. This is a very nice dish of orecchiette and the tuna steak on top looks great.
The story is in Brunetti's Cookbook - which has a couple of orecchiette recipes, Simona.
There is evidently a knack to them as I recall Jamie Oliver in Italy was brushed aside by a small girl because his technique was wrong.
Chocolate shavings - thanks! It's not a shape I've used often, but I like it.
Mother - Dinah was telling me about that too.
Joanne - we're trying to eat more veg and fewer carbs at the moment.
Chris - thanks!
Simona - thank you for the inspiration
Oh, heaven!! I love orecchiette - one of my favourite shapes - though I don't think I would ever be game to try making it from scratch.
I know I would love this dish - pasta with broccoli & anchovies is one of my favourite dishes and I love the way you have prepared this. The tuna steak is the icing on the cake, so to speak.
Sue
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