Weekend Foodie: A taste of the Mediterranean for al fresco dining
This simple dish, with its convenient cheat’s pasta sauce, is packed with mushrooms, baby sweet peppers and tuna to give it a Mediterranean feel.
We’ve embraced summer eating since the sun showed its face two weeks ago!
- 400g tagliatelle
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 flat mushrooms, halved and sliced
- 2 yellow baby sweet peppers, seeded and chopped
- 145g can tuna in sunflower oil, drained
- 350g jar pasta sauce with garlic and basil
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander
- Cook tagliatelle in a large pan of boiling salted water with a little olive oil added till just tender but still with bite - about 4-5 minutes. Stir with a fork to loosen the strands as it softens.
- While the pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in a pan and add mushrooms and peppers. Cook till softened.
- Stir in tuna and pasta sauce and season with freshly ground black pepper and salt if necessary.
- Drain pasta when ready and drizzle with olive oil. Return to pan.
- Spoon tuna mix over the pasta and stir through.
- Check seasoning and add a squeeze of lemon.
- Spoon into warmed bowls and sprinkle generously with fresh chopped coriander to finish.
- 2 large free range egg whites
- 100g caster sugar
- A few drops of vanilla extract
- 2x227g packs of Irish strawberries, hulled and quartered
- 1 tbsp icing sugar, sifted
- 400mls cream
Method
- For the meringues, whisk egg whites in a clean bowl with 1 tbsp caster sugar until stiff peaks form.
- Whisk in the remaining caster sugar gradually, till the mix is shiny and glossy. Whisk in the vanilla extract.
- Spoon equal-sized mounds of mix onto a baking sheet lined with parchment. Space well apart.
- Bake in a pre-heated oven, Gas 1 120C (100C for fan assisted) for about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 mins, until the meringues have crisped and set. Turn the oven off and leave the meringues to cool inside with the door open.
- Whizz 150g of the strawberries with icing sugar to make a puree.
- Whisk cream thick till soft peaks form and keep their shape. Don’t overwhisk.
- Break the meringues into small chunks.
- Gently swirl the broken meringue (reserving a few pieces for topping) and remaining strawberries into the cream with a little of the strawberry puree to make a loose ‘mess’.
- Spoon into serving dishes.
- Drizzle the remaining puree over the top and serve immediately.
A little bit of Italy is called for as a match to this pasta dish. I’ve found a bargain Chianti that will pair perfectly with the flavoursome tastes of the tuna and herbs. Costollore Chianti 2022 is a full-fruited red wine which has some spicy background to cope with all the tastes in this bowlful. The maturity of this wine also adds some depth of flavour, intensifying the tastes of raspberries, strawberries and blackberries. In days when it's hard to find wines under €10 in most shops, Aldi always comes up with the goods to bring a range of wines in under this price bracket. This Chianti is one of them, weighing in at just €8.49 a bottle. What more can I say except pour a glass of this, sit back and enjoy!
Tagliatelle 500g: 69c
Flat mushrooms 250g: €1.15
Tomato pasta sauce: €2.50
Flat Mushrooms 250g pack: €1.15
Baby sweet peppers 200g: €1.69
Tuna 145g can: €1.09
Fresh coriander pack: €1.19
Total: €9.46
Irish Strawberries 2 x 227g packs: €5.58
Cream 500mls: €2.59
Free range eggs: €1.95 (half dozen)
Total: €10.12
App?
