"In Procida, an island off the coast of Naples in southern Italy, I booked dinner one night at a plain but beautiful restaurant with a view of the ocean..."
In Procida, an island off the coast of Naples in southern Italy, I booked dinner one night at a plain but beautiful restaurant with a view of the ocean. There I ate a meal with Rapha and a couple of friends that lingered in my mind as something I wanted to try making myself: an amatriciana with tuna. At first I was confused by the idea of adding tuna to this classic Roman dish, but after ordering it I found the fish paired wonderfully with the guanciale (cured pork cheek). Although there is plenty of debate around how to properly make amatriciana, the addition of tuna means this recipe is not trying to be traditional at all – although, as with any good amatriciana, it calls for good guanciale, as well as very good tinned tomatoes to go with it. I love serving this sauce with paccheri or calamarata pasta, a thick ring shape originating from Naples, but a short pasta shape, such as rigatoni, would work well too.
Serves 2-3
Ingredients:
400 g (14 oz) good quality whole peeled tinned tomatoes
120 g (41/2 oz) guanciale (ask the butcher or deli to cut the meat into slices 1 cm/1/2 in thick)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
60 ml (2 fl oz/1/4 cup) white wine
1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
220 g (8 oz) paccheri pasta
200 g (7 oz) fresh tuna steak
2 tablespoons pecorino, grated
1 tablespoon parmesan, grated
handful of flat-leaf (Italian) parsley, finely chopped
To Make the Sauce:
Put the tomatoes in a bowl and crush them with your hands so that they are in small, rough pieces.
Slice the guanciale into strips 5 cm (2 in) wide, then put it in a wide frying pan over a low–medium heat, with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Fry the guanciale until it has rendered quite a bit of fat, turned a golden colour and is crisp at the edges, about 10–15 minutes. Try not to move the meat around too much – you want to maximise contact with the hot pan so it will get crispy. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, put the now crisp guanciale on a plate, leaving as much oil in the pan as possible. Set the guanciale aside.
Pour the white wine into the pan, leaving it to bubble and the alcohol to cook off for about 30 seconds.
Add the tomatoes, the chilli flakes and a very generous pinch of flaky salt and freshly ground black pepper, and stir. Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer, then leave it to cook over a low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. By this time the sauce should look rich and the fat should be coming to the surface. It should taste deep in flavour but if not, let it go a little longer – an extra 5–10 minutes should be enough. Add three-quarters of the guanciale to the sauce (saving some for garnish at the end), and leave to gently simmer over a low heat.
To Cook the Pasta:
While the sauce is simmering, bring a large saucepan of water to the boil over a high heat, then season with salt (making sure the water tastes well seasoned) and stir. Add the pasta and stir to prevent it sticking together. Cook until it is al dente (usually 2 minutes less than the recommended cooking time on the packet).
To Cook the Tuna and Serve:
While the pasta is cooking and the sauce is thickening, cook the tuna. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan over a medium–high heat. When the oil is very hot, place the tuna in the pan and sear for a minute on each side until it has just cooked through (don’t overcook it). Season each side with salt and pepper and then put the cooked tuna into the sauce, increasing the heat to medium–high and breaking the tuna apart with a wooden spoon.
When the pasta is cooked, lift it out of the water and put it into the sauce. Add the cheeses, stirring continuously to make sure they melt and don’t coagulate. Pour in 60 ml (2 fl oz/1/4 cup) of the pasta water, a splash of olive oil and the parsley. Toss energetically with a wooden spoon or tongs to emulsify. If the sauce is looking at all dry, pour in a little more pasta water and continue to toss the pasta. Serve in bowls with the reserved crispy guanciale on top.
Excerpted with permission from Ellie's Table: Food from memory and food from home by: Ellie Bouhadana published by Hardie Grant Books, August 2024, RRP $40.00 Hardcover.
