Tagliatelle with Fresh Tuna Ragu

 

One of the best ways to spend a Sunday afternoon is to cook yourself up a traditional Italian feast, and there's nothing more traditionally Italian than pasta with seafood. If some of you are sensing a trend here, it's true that we've been happily exploring the pasta seafood combinations with such luscious fish like skate, and monkfish. We'll get back to the meat soon - Bryan will be sure of that.

You'll let me know when the meat comes back, right? 

This Sunday, treat yourself to a delicious fresh tuna ragu over tagliatelle. This is a dish we found from one of our favorite cookbooks, Mario Batali's Molto Gusto, but the concept is universally simple. The wide noodles will capture all the delicious sauce and create a perfect canvas upon which to enjoy the deep flavors of the fresh tuna. When we're looking for something quick and delicious to make, we'll make a simpler version of this dish using canned tuna in a simple sauce. Using the sushi grade tuna makes for a very different experience, and if you're a fan of tuna, you'll find this dish eminently satisfying.

Making the Dish
What You'll Need
(Serves: 2)
1 whole tuna steak
1/2 lb tagliatelle or fettuccine
2 cups tomato sauce
1/4 cup fresh mint
1 onion
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper


To start, find yourself a nice steak of sushi grade tuna and slice it into cubes. Then season lightly with salt and pepper.


You'll be giving it a nice sear on the outside and then setting it aside. Additionally, chop up a spanish onion into a small dice, and for flavor, grab a sprig of mint and thinly slice a few of the leaves.

The tasty mint leaves.

Sear the tuna in a hot non-stick pan. Once the outside has turned opaque and a little golden, remove from heat and set aside. In the same pan, add a touch more olive oil and begin to sauté the onions.

Searing the tuna

Once the onions are nice and golden, add in some fresh tomato sauce and season with the mint. Stir to incorporate and turn the heat to a simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Adding the sliced mint in the tomato sauce

In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil and add in your tagliatelle. While it's cooking, add the tuna back into the sauce and let it continue to simmer.

Adding the seared tuna back into the simmering ragu

Cook the tagliatelle until one minute shy of the package directions and then remove the noodles directly from the pot with your tongs.

Demonstrating the pasta lifting with tongs technique

Drop the pasta into your tuna ragu and over high heat, toss the tagliatelle into the sauce to let the flavors marry. Serve a heaping portion into a bowl and enjoy!

Tagliatelle and tuna ragu tossed together beautifully

The Result

There was some debate as to whether this dish was better or worse than the super simple version utilizing the canned tuna. That said, if you do love seafood, and tuna especially, this is a true testament to the fish. 

If I can get just the right jump I'll be at that tuna in no time!

The sauce is simple enough to let the tuna's flavor shine through, but the flavor of the mint adds a wonderful complement.

What's your favorite seafood to put in pasta? Let us know in the comments!


Click through for the full ingredients list!

Tagliatelle with Fresh Tuna Ragu

Written by: Mario Batali

A deliciously easy and simple meal that makes use of fresh sushi grade Tuna

Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min