Salsa Verde Tuna, Sicilian Tomato & Pasta Salad

This Sunday, I cooked.
I cooked the Salsa Verde Tuna with Sicilian tomato and pasta salad, even though there is so much more to it than the title offers.
Pg. 198 of the "Pasta" section it is.
We had a stray piece of tuna in the freezer so I thought what better way to use it than in a light and flavorful salad with integral pasta and loads and loads of veggies and spices.
The tuna tasted like real men meat, until the oregano and fennel seeds kicked in to give it a whiff of tenderness and individuality.

This is what I came up with:

There are so many ingredients and components in this recipe, it is really vital to either follow Jamie's lead passionately or be really sure of your own way. I sort of went astray. 

Jamie says to cook the pasta first and then make the salsa verde. Well, I first cut my tuna part into nice long fillets, then rubbed them with the salt, pepper, oregano and fennel seeds on both sides. I placed that on a cutting board and set aside. This way the tuna will absorb more flavors by sitting through the process. Next, I dealt with the salad, chopping the tomatoes, rocket, black olives, jarred red peppers and the green chili. I put all that into a bowl which I set by the tuna. Then I went to the Salsa Verde, putting the top part of the fresh parsley, lemon juice, garlic, capers, olive oil, mustard and aceto balsamic (with which I replaced white wine vinegar, whatever you prefer). I couldn't find the fresh mint in my nearby market or at my supermarket, so I opted for fresh marjoram, about 7 leaves. I blitzed that for about 2 minutes, and when it came out it was rather clumpy so I loosened it with 2 tablespoons of water and left it as it was. 

This is when I finally dealt with the pasta. A couple of weeks ago when I was grocery shopping for another one of the recipes I did, the Barilla Integrale Lumaconi Rigati was on sale, and seeing this recipe and making it a goal to do it, I bought it. I saved it till now, when I emptied the whole 500g of it for the four of us. I was positive they were the very same ones Jamie used, but they weren't, he used the Perline. 

Anyways, I cooked that for about 10 minutes as the packaging says, make sure to check it on any pasta you are using, because it may differ. And don't forget to salten the water or else it will be really bland. When that was nearly done (since we know that pasta cooks longer than the tuna, and I didn't want to reheat my pasta), I took out my gril, put 2 tablespoons of olive oil on and when it was heated, I placed my 8 tuna pieces on. Jamie says its ideal if they are pink on the inside, but since I like my meat well done, I may have kept it till it was dark brown. Not burnt though! So that took about 4 minutes on medium heat. While that was frying, I tossed my pasta with the tomato and half the salsa verde, poured on a platter and placed the rest of my ingredients. 

Note: I should've mixed the rocket in when I was mixing the tomato and pasta. 

By this time my tuna was done so I placed half of it over the pasta and voila! 

P.S. Shave over some Parmesan while it is still hot.

To achieve this meal, you will need: 

Ingredients out * Kettle boiled * Large lidded pan, high heat * Food processor (bowl blade) * Large frying pan, medium heat * 

Serves 4, 651 calories

Ingredients

Pasta&tuna

320g dried pasta shells

8 black olives 8(stone in)

400g ripe mixed-color tomatoes

4 jarred red peppers

70g rocket

4 x 120g yellowfin tuna steaks

1 tsp dried oregano 

1 tsp fennel seeds

olive oil

1 fresh red chili

20g Parmesan cheese 

1 lemon 

Salsa verde 

1 big bunch of fresh mint 

1 big bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley 

1 lemon

2 anchovy fillets (I skipped this)

2 tsp capers (drained)

1 clove of garlic

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 

1 heaped tsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp white wine vinegar 

Start cooking 

Put the pasta into the large pan, cover with boiling salted water and cook according to packet instructions. Rip the top leafy half of the mint and parsley into the processor, squeeze in the lemon juice, add all the other salsa verde ingredients (peel the garlic) and blitz until fine, then season to taste, loosen with 2 tablespoons of water and set aside.

Squash the olives (discarding the stones), randomly cut up the tomatoes and peppers, and put them all into a large bowl, then roughly chop and pile the rocket on top. Rub the tuna with salt, pepper, the oregano and fennel seeds, then drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, put into the frying pan and cook for 1 1/2 minutes on each side, ideally so that the tuna's blushing in the middle. 

Drain the pasta, reserving a cupful of the starchy cooking water, then add to the tomato bowl, toss with half of the salsa verde, loosening with a splash of cooking water if needed, then pour onto a nice platter. Put the tuna on top, spoon over the remaining salsa verde, scatter with the finely sliced red chili, then shave over a little Parmesan with a speed-peeler and serve with lemon wedges. 

Note: recipe was taken directly out of the cookbook, my version is stated above. 

Bon Appétit!