pasta alla trasteverina bianca
pasta with garlic mushrooms and tuna
A few years ago I came across a recipe from the 1960s in one of my mother’s recipe books - Spaghetti all Trasateverina - which is garlicky mushrooms and tuna in oil thrown onto spaghetti in a tomato sauce. This is a ‘white’ version of that, shown on this page with activated charcoal maccheroni and on the following page with fettuccine.
I’m generally more of a fan of longer shapes, but if you’re looking for a pasta with bit of drma to it, or just can’t think of anything to eat on Halloween this year, try these maccheroni. Mine were from Welsh pasta wizards Lilo’s Handmade.
WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO
(scroll down for the full method)
pasta with garlic mushrooms and tuna
INGREDIENTS
FOR FOUR PEOPLE
• 200-300g tuna in olive oil
• 250g flat mushrooms
• 1 clove garlic
• dry oregano
• pecorino / parmesan
• fresh chilli
PASTA
500g dry activated charcoal
maccheroni (Lilo’s Handmade)
or
400g dry fettuccine
MANTECATURA
light
METHOD
Crucial with both variations is to use the best canned tuna in olive oil that you can find. Using tuna in brine or springwater just won’t work - the fish needs to be juicy and not dry at all.
Begin by slicing the muchrooms and cooking them gently in EVO, white wine, crushed garlic and a pinch of dry oregano. When they’re nicely tender increase the heat to give them some colour, but don’t let them burn or they’ll taste bitter.
Boil the pasta and when it’s just past ‘al dente’ transfer it to a pasta pan and add the mushrooms - half a ladle of cooking water and toss to combine - aim to create a light starchy sauce, not wallpaper paste! Take the pan off the heat and add parmesan to taste, then toss again.
Sprinkle on the flaked tuna and toss. Plate with finely chopped raw freah chillis and add parmesan / pecorino at the table.
NUTRITION per serving
KCAL: 419
Fat (g): 16.5
Sat Fat (g): 3.1
Carb (g): 37.9
Sug (g): 1.0
Fibre(g): 4.0
Prot (g): 28.2
Salt (g): 1.4
Nutritional information is provided as an indication only of approximate values for the recipe on this page. You should make your own calculations if you have specific dietry requirements or are required to follow a strict calorie-controlled diet.
