Savor the tastes of a Mediterranean summer with this easy linguine dish served alongside a fresh tomato sauce and Bella Portofino Tuna!

Henry James remarked that the two most beautiful words in the English language were “Summer Afternoon.” The words carry idyllic images, sun-drenched beaches, lazy hours passed doing blissful ‘nothing’ in the backyard, or of light ‘seasonal’ meals paired with a balmy summer sunset – some might call all of this perfection. Yet, as Russel Baker once remarked “Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it.”

Now, I’ve spoken of ‘perfection’ here a couple of times, but the most apt definition, I’ve learned through experience, is that “Perfection is what we make it,” and that, as Plato put so aptly, and I’ve used this quote here many times before, “The same wind blows, one man is cold, the other hot.”

I experienced something quite like that just a few days ago. Picture a late summer afternoon on the coast, a salty breeze lingering on the air, whispering through the surrounding trees, gulls are laughing as they ride the salty air, and I was the scene’s perfectly content audience with a light dinner of linguine topped with fresh tomato sauce and Portofino tuna, and a glass of wine. Honestly, nothing could have been more ‘summer’ for me in that moment, not having to fire up the oven or the grill, and just sitting out ‘amidst it all’ in the shade of my porch as the sunset

This, naturally, brings us to today’s recipe – Linguine with Fresh Sauce and Portofino Tuna.

To start, heat a large cast-iron frying pan, and set the tomatoes in the pan to char – leave the pan and tomatoes dry for this process. Once the tomatoes begin to char, then carefully drizzle some olive over them. Be careful of the olive oil splattering due to the pan being hot during this process.

When the tomatoes have begun to soften, crush them either with a large spoon or a masher. Once that’s done, add in the seasonings listed below along with fresh garlic and chopped scallions, fresh basil, and a splash of wine – reserve a handful of the scallions for use as garnish later.

Once that’s done, simmer the sauce over a gentle heat while preparing the linguine. Remember to generously salt the pasta water. While the linguine is cooking, add about six to eight tablespoons of the hot pasta water to the sauce.

At this point, you will want to taste the sauce for seasonings and adjust to your preference.

After that, lift the pasta onto a serving platter, and then top the pasta with the sauce, then top with the tuna as shown below, the scallions you had set aside for garnish, and top with a dusting of grated cheese.

Linguine with Fresh Sauce and Portofino Tuna

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Author: Living the Gourmet
Total Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients

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1 - 4.5 oz. can of Bella Portofino Tuna! - drained and shredded
4 cloves of garlic - chopped
1 bunch of scallions - chopped (keeping a handful aside for garnish)
4 pints of grape tomatoes or (6 - 8 vine ripe tomatoes - diced)
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
2 tbs. olive oil
3 - 4 tbs. red wine
About 10 fresh basil leaves - ripped
Fresh Romano or Parmesan cheese - for grating
1 lb. of linguine or your favorite pasta

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Instructions

Heat a large cast-iron frying pan and place the tomatoes in the hot pan to slightly char. When the tomatoes begin to char carefully drizzle the olive oil over the tomatoes. The pan is hot so be careful that the oil does not splatter.
When the tomatoes or softened gently crush them down with a masher.
Add the seasonings, garlic, scallions, chopped fresh basil and wine – reserving a few basil leaves for garnish.
Simmer the sauce on a gentle heat while preparing the linguine as directed.
Add about three tablespoons of the well-salted pasta water to the sauce.
Taste the sauce for seasonings.
Drain the pasta and plate. Top with the sauce gently incorporating the sauce into the pasta.
Top with the tuna, scallions and grated cheese and serve.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes