Simple Pasta Sauces- Penne Lisce Arrabbiata con Tuna

I was inspired to do a simple recipe by a fotograph taken of the panic in the local grocery stores around Italy with the Corona Virus scare. The circle is around the Penne Lisce pasta, obviously not a favorite with many people. Italians are fanatics about what sauce goes with what shape of pasta and need to have several shapes available in their pantry at all times. There are Penne Rigate with ridges which hang on to sauce, but the Lisce tend to have the sauce slip right off the pasta. There is even a #pennelisce hashtag now! A little humor while Italy goes into a panic attack with tourists cancelling their visits, unsure about what is happening.

People were worried that the grocery stores would be closed down, several cities have closed down museums and some public spaces for the week while they are doing testing. What the man who posted the foto said was that even in a case of total panic, no one wants the pasta format Penne Lisce, the pasta without ridges.

To an Italian, each pasta format has the perfect sauce you can serve with it. The penne lisce have a bad rap because sauces slip from the pasta. I always think about that shape in a cheap trattoria where the pasta is precooked or with some old 80’s style sauces, often with cream as a base.  Penne with panna and prosciutto and peas, Penne with panna and smoked salmon, Penne with Rose sauce ( cream, tomato paste and parmigiano), Penne alla Carbonara. Penne with Vodka sauce.

After the blogger posted his comment on the pasta shape being left on the shelve, the pasta company jumped on the bandwagon with this add. “Not all Penne Lisce are equal” with a link to the sauces you should serve using that pasta ( in italian). The site has recipes in English as well, but I couldn’t create a link to the penne recipes..but many are cream based.

When we arrived at our grocery store in Certaldo, there was really no panic on food. The pasta shelf was a little empty, but there were two men filling the shelves and the pasta that empty was the cheaper commercial brands. Luckily we have a large choice of pasta. We tend to buy pasta from local artisan producers or from Gragnano which is a superior pasta.

We decided to make a pasta sauce which we would have had with penne lisce, a sort of school caffeteria pasta. I always immagine it to be overcooked, having been precooked and then reheated to serve.

Traditionally we undercook the pasta and then finish it off in the sauce to help the pasta to absorb some of the sauce. The slick penne surface, tends to make the sauce slip off, not really appealing to me. A friend said it works well with pesto.

One of our go to pasta sauces is a lovely simple spicy tomato based sauce with tuna. I adore Italian tuna. When in doubt in a local bar, I eat a tuna panino.  It is packed in oil and usually in large filets.

The spicy tomato sauce with capers is lovely even on a tuna steak as a main course.

 

Pasta al Tonno

Penne lisce, penne pasta without ridges ( smooth) 80 to 100 grams per person for a main course, a bag is 500 grams. 1/2 the bag is a large portion for 2 if it is being your whole meal.

garlic

extra virgin olive oil

1 can san marzano tomatoes or plum tomatoes

tuna canned in olive oil. I usually buy tuna packed on jars.( because I can and adore it)

capers

orange zest

salt

 

In a large pan, cover the bottom with olive oil. Add garlic slices to taste. I use one large garlic clove and a couple of tiny chili peppers or chili flakes to taste.

Turn on the heat, and let the garlic slowly cook until just lightly golden.

Move the pan off the heat and add the can of tomatoes. ( this helps avoid splattering).

Crush the tomatoes with the back of your spoon or spatula.

Add some capers, salt to taste.

Add pieces of tuna and break them up.

Grate in some orange zest and let the sauce cook down.

Undercook the pasta by a minute or two, al dente. Drain the pasta and add to the sauce and stir to mix well .

 

 

Let cook for another 2 minutes to infuse the pasta with the sauce.

 

Doesn’t it look more appealing having been cooked in the sauce?

Normally we use a Rigatoni, tube-shaped pasta with ridges or Andrea likes Farfalle, the butterfly shape.

This sauce is similar to Arrabbiata or Puttanesca. Both start off with garlic and chili in olive oil with the tomatoes. Puttanesca would have capers and olives in the sauce.

The Arrabbiata simply the spicy tomato sauce. Amatriciana has guanciale, the pork jowl “bacon” which is cooked first then the tomatoes are cooked in the pork fat and then crispy guanciale is added back into the tomato sauce before dressing the pasta.

It is easy to riff off the sauces once you have your simple basic rules. Always salt the pasta water so the pasta has more flavor.

Always cook the pasta in the sauce the last 2 minutes.

NEVER rinse off the pasta or put olive oil in the cooking water.

 

Do you have a favorite shape of pasta?

Do you keep dry pasta in your pantry?

Let me know in the comments if you would like more simple, easy pasta recipes.