Tuna with Basil and Orange sauce

Here’s another tuna-based food: yes, tuna is very common in Italy and we often eat it because it’s very tasty and good for lots of dishes. For this one we eat Tuna with a fresh basil and orange sauce. 

Ingredients (Imperial & Metric) – Party of 4

• 400g (14 oz)Fresh Tuna Fillets
• 7-8 Basil Leaves
• 2 oranges
• 45g. (3 Tablespoons)Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Method: 

• To prepare the sauce, put in a mixer the basil leaves, the oranges without the skin and half glass of fresh water and mix them for 1-2 minutes.
• Cut the tuna fillets into "sticks"  approx 2 inches wide, 2 inches thick and as long as the fillet is. 
• Grease a nonstick pan with a towel soaked in olive oil  
• Cook the tuna “sticks” just 1-2 minutes each side (Tuna  should be still raw at the centre)
• Once cooked, slice the sticks to obtain approximately cubic pieces
• Serve them around a cup with the sauce (if you want to have a Japan-style table, prepare the dish just like in the picture)

Annotations: for health reasons I suggest you to freeze your tuna fillet for 5 days before cooking it like this recipe suggest you. This is because in this dish, the central part of our fillet must be raw, and raw tuna may be dangerous if it's not properly blasted (with a blast chiller, just like restaurants should do!!) or frozen (with domestic machinery) for more days.

Pasta with Pistachios Pesto and Fish

This is a typical dish of SICILY, the Italian region where I think food is the best! You can use your favorite type of Pasta, here in this picture you can see GNOCCHETTI, but you can choose any other one (I suggest also fettuccine). 

Let’s see how to prepare it.

Ingredients ( Metric and Imperial) Party of 4

• 400g (14oz) of Pasta: decide your favorite type
• 200g (7oz) of shelled Pistachios (Non salted, the best are from Bronte, Sicily)
• 1 clove of garlic
• 100g (6-7 tablespoons) of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2-3 medium Basil leaves
• 50g (3-4 tablespoons) of Parmigiano
• 1-2 pinches of salt
• 1-2 pinches of pepper
• 200g (7oz) of clean fresh seafood: you can chose one, I suggest Shrimps, Gilthead, fresh Tuna  or Swordfish

Method:

• Prepare the Pesto: put in a mixer pistachios, garlic, olive oil, Parmigiano, basil leaves, salt and turn it on until you obtain your creamy pesto
• Put it in a nonstick pan and when it starts boiling, add the chopped fish ( Shrimps, Tuna or any other you have chosen): It will cook in 2-3 minutes.
• Boil pasta  in salted water. You've to stop cooking it 2 minutes before the instruction of the packet says. At this time strain it out of the water (saving a glass of it) and pour it in the pan with high flame, mixing it  with the sauce and ending the cooking time in there. The right way to cook it is firm to the bite ( “al dente", in Italian). If it becomes a bit dry, then add a little quantity of cooking water while mixing.
• Serve it adding some fresh pistachios on the top

Spaghetti with Squid's Ink

Let's talk about another very important dish of Italian seafood tradition: cooking this, you will amaze your guests with their strange color and their wonderful taste.

Ingredients (Metric and Imperial) Party of 4

• 400g (14 oz) Spaghetti
• 45g (3 tablespoons) of extra virgin olive oil 
• 2 medium squids (250gr/8oz each)
• 1 squid ink bag (your fishmonger will save it for you while he cleans the squids). If you can’t have it, use dried packaged one 
• 10-15 black pitted olives
• 125ml (1/2 CUP) Tomato sauce/pulp
• 1 parlsey sprig, finely chopped
• 1 clove of garlic,finely chopped
• 15g (1 Tablespoon) Salt for boiling water + 2 pinches for the sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon of chilli,fresh or dried (optional)
• 1 pinch of pepper (optional)
• 250ml (1 cup) of white wine
• 2 pinches of Parmigiano cheese (Optional)

Method:

• Take your clean squids and thinly slice them (big pieces will cook in much more time)
• Put into a nonstick pan the oil, the optional chilli and the garlic and put the pan on a low flame
• When the garlic becomes a bit darker, add the squids and the glass of white wine and cook them for about 10 minutes.
• Add in your pan the tomato sauce/pulp and 2 pinches of salt.
• Break the ink-bag in a glass, take 2 teaspoons of it and add in your pan (If you have dried one, follow the instructions on the package: you will see you sauce becoming very dark
• After 5 minutes you sauce will be ready.
• Boil spaghetti in salted water. You've to stop cooking them 2 minutes before the instruction of the packet says. At this time strain them out of the water (saving a glass of it) and pour it in the pan with high flame, mixing them  with the sauce and ending the cooking time in there. The right way to cook them is firm to the bite ( “al dente", in Italian). If they become a bit dry, then add a little quantity of cooking water while mixing.
• Serve on your plates, adding some squid pieces and chopped parlsey on the top and. If you like, add also some Parmigiano.