Ciao from your Abruzzo culinary guide, Fabrizio!
It’s always a pleasure to share the incredible flavors and stories of Italian cuisine with you, just as I do on my tours.
Today, what culinary delight or Italian tradition sparks your curiosity?
Are you ready to explore a traditional Abruzzese recipe perfect for a cozy evening, perhaps one of those gems I love to feature in my tours?
Or are you eager to see how I can reinterpret a classic dish with the fresh, seasonal ingredients I find right here in Abruzzo, perhaps straight from the market or the sea?
Sun-Kissed Paccheri with Seared Tuna & Garden Mint: A Taste of Abruzzo’s Coast!
My dear friends, this dish is a true celebration of the Abruzzese coast and the incredible bounty our land and sea offer!
Today, as I was returning from my daily bike ride along the beautiful Trabocchi Coast, I made a couple of stops that inspired this very dish.
First, I pulled over at a local farmer’s roadside stand, where I picked up the first truly ripe and sweet cherry tomatoes of the season, along with a wonderful fresh red onion.
Then, it was off to my favorite fishmonger in Vasto, who always has the freshest catch.
And there it was: beautiful, super fresh tuna!
I simply couldn’t resist. My mind immediately started dreaming of combining that vibrant tuna with those sweet tomatoes.
When I got home, I knew I had to create something special, a fresh take on the classic pasta al tonno (pasta with tuna), which is often made simply with canned tuna and onion.
This dish truly embodies the “Fabrizio: From the Territory to the Table” philosophy, combining fresh, local ingredients with a touch of personal flair.
And as you’ll see in the photos, I enjoyed this particular plate under one of my father’s olive trees in the garden, a perfect union of flavors and setting!
Meal Placement
This is a wonderful primo piatto (first course), substantial enough to be a light main course, especially for lunch. It’s vibrant, fresh, and full of Mediterranean flavors.
Servings, Time, and Difficulty
- Serves: 4 people (though, for my video, I made it just for myself, for a delightful lunch break!)
- Prep time: 10 minutes
- Cook time: 20 minutes (depending on pasta cooking time, mine took about 14-15 minutes)
- Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
- 320g (11.3 oz) Paccheri pasta: For this recipe, I used a fantastic pasta from an artisanal Abruzzese pasta factory, made with local Italian durum wheat and bronze-drawn (trafilata al bronzo). This ensures it holds its shape beautifully and really grabs the sauce!
- 400g (14.1 oz) Super fresh tuna steak
- 400g (14.1 oz) Sweet Cherry Tomatoes
- 30 small black olives (the ones from my father’s olive trees, they still have their pits, just like tradition!)
- 1 medium red onion
- 16 fresh mint leaves (picked directly from my garden, bursting with fragrance!)
- 100g (3.5 oz) Salicornia (also known as sea beans or samphire, or as we call it, sea asparagus). I picked this up directly from the fishmonger; they often have it available fresh!
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO), as needed – the precious oil from my father’s 25 olive groves, truly the gold of our Abruzzo!
- Coarse salt, as needed (for pasta water)
- Fine salt, as needed
Instructions
Start the Sauce: First, I finely chopped the red onion. Then, I poured a generous drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (from my father’s own olive trees, of course!) into a terracotta pot – a cooking vessel very common and beloved here in Abruzzo. Terracotta is special for three reasons: it provides uniform cooking, keeping your ingredients perfectly tender; it maintains the dish warm even after it’s served, which is wonderful for enjoying a leisurely meal; and frankly, its rustic beauty is simply a joy for the eyes compared to other pots! I let the onion gently “imbiondire” (become golden and translucent) over medium heat.
Add Tuna and Mint: After a few minutes, when the onion started to soften and turn golden, I added the fresh tuna, cut into cubes. I also added half of the fresh mint leaves (roughly torn) at this stage.
Introduce Tomatoes and Pasta Water: While the tuna began to cook through, still tender, I added the halved cherry tomatoes. They don’t need to cook for long; we want them to warm through and release just a bit of their juice, keeping them almost like a fresh component, not a cooked sauce.
Cook the Pasta: Meanwhile, I brought a large pot of water to a rolling boil. I added a good amount of coarse salt to the water – without overdoing it! It’s always best to taste as you go. Then, I dropped in the paccheri pasta. My artisanal paccheri took about 14-15 minutes to cook al dente.
Season the Sauce and Add Olives/Salicornia: While the pasta was bubbling away, I added a pinch of fine salt to the tuna and tomato sauce, again, tasting as I went along. For the last 5 minutes of the sauce’s cooking time, I added the black olives (remembering they have their pits, so be careful when eating!) and the salicornia, which I had already cleaned and removed any tougher parts from.
Combine and Finish: Once the pasta was perfectly al dente, I drained it well and added it directly to the terracotta pot with the warm tuna and tomato sauce. I let it cook together for a couple of minutes, tossing gently to ensure the pasta absorbed all those wonderful flavors. This is the crucial moment to taste the pasta combined with the sauce. If it needs a little more salt, now is the time to add it, not before! This way, you ensure the perfect balance.
Serve: Finally, I served the dish immediately, piping hot! Before enjoying, I added the remaining fresh mint leaves and a generous drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (olio a crudo) – that wonderful liquid gold from my father’s olive groves – over each serving.
Tips and Variations – Abruzzese/Fabrizio Style
- Lemon Zest Variation: If you’re looking for a delightful twist, you can prepare this same dish by omitting the cherry tomatoes and instead adding some fresh lemon zest at the end. The bright citrus notes beautifully complement the tuna.
- Seasonal Vegetables: This recipe is wonderfully adaptable to other seasonal vegetables. Instead of salicornia, or in addition to it, you could add thinly sliced zucchini or even some tender green beans. The key is to use fresh, local produce!
- My Personal Touch: The use of the terracotta pot here isn’t just tradition; it truly helps the flavors meld beautifully and keeps the sauce at a perfect gentle simmer. And that final drizzle of olio a crudo? It’s essential! It brings a fresh, vibrant finish to the dish.
Wine Pairing
To truly complete the experience, I paired this dish with an excellent local Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo wine, produced by my cousin – a beautiful rosé that offers a perfect balance to the fresh flavors of this pasta. It’s a wine you often get to taste during our culinary tours!
Estimated Calories
Approximately 550-650 calories per serving, depending on the amount of olive oil used and the exact cut of tuna.
Buon appetito, piatto pulito!
This Italian saying translates to “Enjoy your meal, plate clean!”
It’s a wonderful phrase we often use before a meal, especially with children.
It’s a fun way to encourage everyone to enjoy their food so much that they leave nothing behind on their plate – a sign of a truly delicious meal!
What other fresh, seasonal ingredients are you curious about discovering today?
Or perhaps you’d like to hear a story about a traditional Abruzzese feast?
Ciao for now
Fabrizio
Discover more about our culinary adventures and tour calendar at: https://italiasweetitalia.com/italian-cookery-holidays-calendar-and-booking/
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