Tortellini and Tuna

Pasta-Tortellini and Tuna

Kids love anything that is fun, and tortellini can be fun. It is a belly button pasta, ring shaped and generally small, filled with spinach, herbs, cheese or even meat sometimes. I chose one with a spinach filling for this dish but a cheese filling may work just as well. This one is topped with tuna, olives and a fresh tomato sauce.

Spinach Tortellini, tomato sauce,tuna and olives with fresh herbs

The Tomato Sauce,
Cook together in a pan over the stove top. Bring it to a boil, cover, lower the heat and simmer for 1 hour.

500 gm/1 lb fresh tomatoes, skinned finely chopped
8 leaves of torn fresh Basil
3 tsp brown sugar
 3 freshly grated garlic cloves 
1 tsp salt
1 each of red,yellow and orange bell peppers, finely chopped, preferably skinned
3 tbsp olive oil
1/ 2 cup browned onions finely diced
optional
dash of Ancho chillie powder
dash of dried herbs
dash of tabasco

Taste and adjust seasoning.

Remove half the tomato sauce for another time and freeze.

Add to just the half of the remaining tomato sauce
500gm/ 1lb, 2 cups Tuna in oil 
150 gms Olives
2 tbsp Capers
2 tbsp fresh herbs of choice

Toss it all and serve on a bed of cooked Tortellini Pasta of choice.

Optionally, Serve with freshly grated Parmesan

Tips
Always cook enough Tomato sauce to pack and freeze for the next time round.  It saves time, energy and washing up. Do not freeze in aluminium or tin foil.  It is best to use a glass bowl.
Thaw it in the fridge for 24 hours and reheat the tomato sauce properly bringing it to a boil before reuse.
Red and Yellow peppers area available in jars that have been roasted and peeled for simplicity.
Cooked Tuna in olive oil also comes in glass jars which is in large slivers rather than broken bits.
Use the excess olive oil in the water while boiling your pasta. 

For Parsi Food recipes click The Art of Parsi Cooking; reviving an ancient cuisine.
For more recipes click and download 
Niloufer's Kitchen : French Bistro


Photo Courtesy
Tanya Vakil Fernandes