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    Wednesday, May 03, 2006

    Roasted Vegetable Nicoise Pasta

    Ruth at Once About a Feast is running Presto Pasta Night a weekly event. I thought this was perfect.



    Huey on Food TV came up with this idea. I thought it was brilliant.
    Our staff had all been working very hard on some concerts we were
    filming...a healthy lunch was required...something other than the usual burgers.

    This dish is so good for a crowd. Simple and relatively quick.
    It got the thumbs up from all of them.
    By the way the photo from the trusty phone was taken just before I delivered the lunch.
    Don’t be alarmed this amount is not for 2 people…
    We are greedy but not that greedy.

    For the crowd I used canned tuna (in olive oil)
    but for 2 people buy a nice piece of fresh tuna.

    So for 2 people these amounts will suffice.

    100 gms penne cooked to manufacturers instructions

    200 gm piece of fresh tuna

    6 small potatoes par boiled 3-4 minutes
    12 green beans topped and tailed
    1 red onion peeled halved and thick sliced
    4 anchovies
    3-4 cloves of garlic in skin just bang with heavy knife
    Extra virgin olive oil
    Sea salt, freshly ground black pepper
    White balsamic vinegar you can use white wine vinegar or lemon juice
    but I love this product for dressings
    8-10 cherry tomatoes halved

    6-8 black olives
    3 eggs
    hardboiled, shelled and halved
    Handful parsley chopped
    Parmesan cheese finely grated

    Heat your roasting pan on top of the stove and slosh in 2-3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
    Place tuna and turn over…isolate to one end of the pan.
    Add potatoes, beans, onion, anchovies, garlic,
    Season everything with sea salt & pepper, then toss the vege around till
    all covered in the oil.
    Let them get started for about a minute on the element,
    then transfer to a 200◦ oven.

    Roast 8-10 minutes.
    Remove tuna and throw in tomatoes.
    Break up the tuna into bite size pieces
    Back into the oven about 5 minutes.
    Remove and drizzle on some more oil
    and sprinkle over about 1 -2 tbs white balsamic vinegar

    Meanwhile cook the pasta.

    Grab a bowl and place the pasta, tuna and vege, gently toss (you don’t want to break up the tuna), and invert onto a serving plate.
    Garnish with the black olives, eggs, parsley and finish off with grated parmesan cheese.