Tuna Pasta

Paladin's (Stinky) Balsamic Tuna and Garlic Spaghetti:

6-7 ounce Albacore Tuna 'pouch' (the no-drain tuna envelopes)

1 medium or 2 small shallots, finely chopped

2-3 Tablespoon good Balsamic vinegar (more or less to taste)

3-7 Tablespoon good Extra Virgin Olive Oil (the flavor counts so use the good stuff)

1 Cube vegetable bouillon or 1 Tablespoon 'Better than Bouillon' veg or chicken flavor

2-3 Large cloves of garlic (elephant garlic is nice and mild if you can get it) - Chopped or crushed

Pinch of Crushed Red Pepper

Black Pepper or Lemon Pepper to season

Parmigiano Reggiano (not parmesan cheese!)

1 Package Spaghetti (I like Spaghetti Rigatti best cause it has ridges that hold the sauce)

You'll need a nice large (at least 10") saute pan for this. Put about 1 or 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in the saute pan and bring to a medium-low heat.

Add your shallots and cook till they soften and start to turn translucent. Keep them moving with a wooden spoon.

Add the chopped/crushed garlic and let that warm up.

Add about a tablespoon of the balsamic vinegar. If you really like balsamic, add a bit more.

Now add the bouillon cube. Mix that in to the sauce you have so far. If you need to, add more oil or balsamic vinegar so it can dissolve. Don't be afraid of the olive oil. It's very good for you.

Take a minute here to start boiling your water for the pasta. Follow the directions on the pasta for amounts of water (add salt etc.) but make sure not to put in the pasta yet.

After a minute or two when things are heated back up, open up your tuna and throw it in there. Be careful, it may spit on you. Stir it all together.

Add the crushed red pepper, black pepper and/or lemon pepper, more or less to taste.

Lower the heat to a low simmer.

At this point you need to add your pasta to the boiling, salted water you should have in a nice big pot. You need to be careful not to overcook the pasta as this dish is a bit hard to mix and overcooked pasta will mush up. Correctly cooked pasta should keep its form and have just the slightest resistance when you bite it.

You are basically making a sauce with the oil, vinegar and seasonings to coat the pasta and keep the tuna from clumping together. So as you cook the pasta keep an eye on the tuna to make sure it doesn't dry out. Add a tablespoon of water to keep things moist if you need. Add more oil or vinegar if the tuna seems to have soaked it all up.

Once the pasta is done, drain it (don't rinse) and put it back in the large pot it was boiled in. Dump the tuna and sauce into the pasta, and grab a bit of pasta to swirl around the saute pan to get the remnant of sauce and stuff. Mix it all together and top with grated parmigiano reggiano. If you can't get parmigiano, you can substitute Grana Padano or Pecorino Romano.

This dish is best served very hot. Once mixed you can keep the pan over very low heat to keep everything hot. It matures over a day or two in the fridge so it makes great leftovers too, just throw it in the microwave on medium for 2 minutes to reheat.

Warning: This pasta is for garlic/balsamic vinegar/tuna fans only. The minimal oil based sauce makes the flavors very strong. You can substitute low-carb pasta and this becomes a low carb dish easily. Olive oil is the main ingredient of the sauce and is very good for you so don't be afraid to go wild.