Tastes Like Home
“It’s so quick and easy you barely need a recipe. It’s something I make often, especially when short on time or fresh produce. It leans heavily on things in the cupboard. It’s salty from the capers and bright and zingy from the lemon and it’s just such a great recipe to have up your sleeve. ” – Julia Busuttil Nishimura
Julia Busuttil Nishimura says…
Growing up Maltese, cooking and sharing food was central to everything we did. Through food, I learned what it meant to be generous, considered and thoughtful. Every time you would cook for someone, it was an opportunity to show love. This is something I have carried with me into my adult life in both my home and through my work.
Sharing the joy of good food is something instilled in me by my mum. She never had much, but if there was tinned fish in the cupboard, a good meal could always be created. Formed into the tuna polpette she would make for us as children, tossed into salads or simply added to a platter Maltese style, with some tomatoes, fresh ricotta and a few olives or capers – she had such a way in the kitchen.
Pantry staples like pasta, tinned tomatoes and legumes were also saviours for my mum, as she sought to feed three children on a tight budget. I always looked forward to these meals – they were thrifty, but always so comforting and satisfying. She was frugal. She had to be. But she also never sacrificed flavour or deliciousness.
I still think anchovies on buttered bread is the perfect way to start a meal, especially if you are entertaining – I have the fondest memory of eating at a beautiful restaurant in Rome and being so enamoured by the simplicity of it all.
One of my favourite things my mum would make was spaghetti with tuna, just like this one. It’s so quick and easy you barely need a recipe. It’s something I make often, especially when short on time or fresh produce. It leans heavily on things in the cupboard. It’s salty from the capers and bright and zingy from the lemon and it’s just such a great recipe to have up your sleeve.
I really love to make it in the warmer months when it’s too hot to cook. It is a rather versatile recipe, too – add in some halved cherry tomatoes, a small handful of roughly chopped olives and some torn rocket or basil. A simple meal that will always remind me of home.
Ingredients
Serves 4
240g tinned tuna in olive oil, drained and flaked
large handful of parsley leaves, roughly chopped
30g salted capers, rinsed and drained
finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
good pinch of chilli flakes
100ml extra-virgin olive oil
400g spaghetti
sea salt and black pepper
Method
Place the tuna, parsley, capers, lemon zest and juice, chilli flakes and olive oil in a large bowl.
Cook the spaghetti in a large saucepan of salted boiling water until al dente.
Use tongs to transfer the spaghetti to the bowl with the tuna, reserving the pasta water.
Toss the pasta to coat, adding a little reserved pasta water, as needed. Season to taste and serve.
SIMPLE PLEASURES BY JULIA BUSUTTIL NISHIMURA IS OUT 29 SEPTEMBER THROUGH PAN MACMILLAN AUSTRALIA
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Published in ed#770