Ziti Pasta with Tuna, Capers, and Raisins – the return of a long lost friend-Vicki James

I first made this recipe when it appeared in Bon Appetit magazine in July 1994. I made it because I was intrigued by the ingredients and couldn’t wait to find out how this crazy conglomeration would taste. I simply fell in love with it. I knew I would want to make it again and again.

I kept the magazine in which the recipe appeared for many years. But as fate would have it, it got lost or tossed somewhere along the way during a move from one house to another. I suspect my husband of discarding it, as he thought I was approaching hoarderville with my collection of food magazines.

Time went by, but I never forgot about the recipe. Although most recipes from Bon Appetit can be found on Epicurious.com, this one never made it out of the archives. After many internet searches failed to turn it up, I was sadly resigned to never tasting that unique tuna pasta again.

One day, as I searched once again, without much hope, I found it! It was on a website called Astray.com. Astray is a home for recipes that are out of print or no longer found on any websites. I can’t begin to tell you how thrilled I was! It was like finding a long lost lover or friend at a time when you had given up. Yay for Astray!

I’ve made it several times since I found it and it is every bit as delicious as I remembered. Don’t be put off by the long list of ingredients. With the help of a food processor, it comes together pretty quickly and is definitely doable on a weeknight. If you were really organized, you could go ahead and prepare the first step, which requires chopping up the first eight ingredients in the food processor in the morning before you go out. You will spend more time searching through you cupboard and refrigerator to assemble everything than you will making the whole recipe. Well, maybe not really.
But having the first step out of the way makes it very easy to prepare the meal after you get home from whatever activities, be they mundane or exotic, filled your day. I hope they were exotic.

(c) Stuart F. James

Here’s the recipe. Make it, cherish it and love it.

Ingredients

½ cup coarsely chopped carrots

½ cup coarsely chopped celery

1/3 cup coarsely chopped shallots

¼ cup chopped parsley

3 tbsps. Capers. The recipe says to drain them and rinse them, but I add the straight from the jar.

3 tbsps. Golden Raisins

3 tbsps. Pine Nuts

¼ to ½ tsp. Red pepper flakes

¼ cup olive oil

½ cup dry white wine

1 tsp. chopped anchovies

1 six ounce can or jar of tuna packed in vegetable oil. I recommend Tonnino’s tuna fillets in olive oil. But I have also made it with other brands and it’s always good. I just think Tonnino’s is better. But don’t stress if you can’t find it.

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (or 1 teaspoon dried)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano (1/2 tsp. dried)

¼ plus ½ cup of grated Romano cheese.

¾ pound ziti pasta (penne works, too)

½ cup bottled clam juice

I know that’s a lot of ingredients. But stay with me. It’s worth it.

Preparation

Process the first eight ingredients in a food processor until finely minced. Add the oil to the pan and heat to medium high. And yes, I won’t mind if you use a little less than a quarter cup. When hot, add the vegetable mixture and cook it, covered for about ten minutes, lifting the lid occasionally to stir.

Add the wine and anchovies. Cover and cook another 5 minutes. Uncover and cook until the wine has evaporated, about 6 minutes.

Remove the mixture from the heat. Stir in the tuna, basil, oregano and ¼ cup cheese.

Cook ziti pasta until al dente. Warm up the tuna mixture and add the pasta, clam juice, and ½ cup Romano cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste and manga, manga, Bambinos! See that wasn’t so hard.

I hope you will make this recipe and love it as much as I do. Even my husband, who always balks at the idea of raisins in anything, loves it. The raisins adds a near phantom sweetness that enhances the complexity of the dish. All of the disparate flavors harmonize to create a culinary symphony. I think of it as a grown up version of tuna noodle casserole. You won’t miss the Velveeta.

Vicki James