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Let’s make a boisterous pasta dish using the wonderfully delicious products we import from the Armato family and add a side dish that features our “apicoltore”, Andrea Bianco.
Ingredients:
Pasta … I like a short form type like penne or fusilli which have ridges or curlicues upon which the sauce adheres which makes the vibrant flavors of this dish all the more zesty;
Onion or shallot: diced and ready to be sautéed;
Tomatoes: a bit early in the season here in the northeast for fresh from the vine but a more than proper substitute is a can of San Marzano tomatoes (organically grown!)
Pepper: coarsely ground and black
Salt: not in the sauce, only in the water for the pasta!
Anchovies: prepared by the Armato family … several fingers full
Tuna: again, the glorious tuna that we bring in from Armato in Liguria
Capers: the exquisite whole berries plucked and prepared by Armato (these are critical … do not skip);
Oregano: dried aromatic herbs prepared by Armato;
Peperoncino: dried hot red pepper flakes … another Armato specialty
Olive Oil from Liguria: the Sci-appa super premium, unfiltered, artisanal Ligurian olive oil produced by the Armato family from olives picked from the steep hillsides of the village of Stellinello above Alassio on the northern Ligurian coastline.
Directions:
In a large pot (large enough to ultimately hold the sauce and the cooked pasta!), use enough of the Armato olive oil to cover the bottom completely; then, when warm, throw in the diced onion/shallot and season with ground pepper while the onions soften and turn slightly golden; chop and dice the tomatoes and add to the sautéed onions; sprinkle oregano and pepperoncino over bubbling mix, reduce the heat slightly; add the anchovies to the pot (no need to chop as they will release their juices and slightly disintegrate in the heat of the pot); crumble a fistful of tuna and add to the mixture; cut the capers in two and add a handful to the pot; simmer for at least 20 minutes so that each of the elements can marry its deliciousness to its companions;
Boil the water for the pasta; when it reaches a boil add several teaspoons of kosher salt; then bring the water back to a boil and place the pasta in the boiling water until ALMOST cooked “al dente”; when the pasta is ready, turn off the flame, drain the pasta and place the pasta in the pot with the sauce; add a spoonful of the pasta water to the sauce and stir so that the pasta is well-coated with the sauce.
