3 standbys:
--------------------------------
Pasta with Tuna Sauce
--Chop one or two cloves of garlic (use a garlic press; it's easier).
--Drain a can of light tuna packed in olive oil (white tuna in water will be tasteless). Good brands are Italian/Spanish/ Portuguese.
--Chop a handful of black olives. Trader Joe's has a decent kind that are already pitted; the wrinkled "al forno" ones have the most intense flavor, otherwise you may barely notice them.
--Fry garlic in some good-quality olive oil. Do not skimp on oil. Don't let garlic get brown.
--Throw in well-drained tuna (watch out - it will spatter) and mash around in the oil. Add the olives and a few capers if you have them. Add some cayenne if you like a bit of bite.
--Dump in a small can of chopped tomatoes. Mash around with other ingredients. Let simmer while you are cooking the pasta: spaghetti or linguine is traditional.
Portions =
It depends on how much sauce you like. You could double or halve literally any of the ingredients here and still get something decent-- it's all personal preference / convenience.
---
did I write recipe this already? I seem to remember this general topic..
Anyway, everyone to whom I've shown the above dish has adopted it into their frequent-meal repetoire.
--------------------------------
Pasta Carbonara (for 2 decent portions)
traditionally this is with rigatoni or big ziti; but you can also use spaghetti or whatever you like
-Start water boiling for pasta. Add salt to the water unless you are under strict doctor's orders (in which case you probably shouldn't be making this dish).
-You probably won't be able to find the "guanciale" that is usually used for this dish, so instead use some thick-cut smoked bacon (2-4 slices should do it). Trim lengthwise to discard the fattiest half. Alternatively you could use the little (German-yikes!) prosciutto cubes that are sold in plastic pkgs at Trader Joe's . You want about a handful of bacon-y meat tidbits. Start frying those up.
-Chop 1/2 regular onion and add to frying bacon bits. When onion starts to get cooked/brown, take off the heat.
-Take a nice big bowl and crack 2 eggs into it. Beat as for scrambled eggs.
-Add at least 1/2 cup, maybe 3/4 cup, fresh grated parmesan cheese and mix with the eggs. I judge it by when I get a thick pancake-batter-like consistency.
-When your pasta (about a half-package for 2 meal-size portions) has boiled and been drained, dump immediately into the bowl with the cheese and eggs. Stir vigorously to distribute. You are trying to get a smooth sheeny light coating on the pasta and trying to avoid "overcooking" any of the egg and getting lumps. I should not have to add that you do not rinse the pasta after cooking; just drain it as quick as you can to retain the heat. Add the onions and bacon bits at the end, along with a very healthy dose of freshly-ground black pepper.
There's no such thing as an American- or English-style breakfast here, so when I miss "bacon & eggs" this is a good remedy.
Another good one (not quick overall but quick to prepare, with v. few ingredients and few steps):
--------------------------------
Pork Ribs in Red Wine Sauce (4-6 portions)
--Boil about 5 lb. pork ribs (cut up) in water for 1/2 hour. Drain and set aside.
--In the meantime, take 2 red onions, 2 carrots and 2 celery sticks and chop into bite-size chunks.
--Put a decent amount of olive oil and heat in a dutch oven or heavy covered casserole or frypan. Fry up the veggies for 10-12 minutes or until they are starting to get browned.
--Now put in the drained boiled ribs, along with 2 cups chicken broth, 2 cups dry red wine, 2 cups canned chopped tomatoes, 2 anchovy fillets, and some sprigs of fresh rosemary. (Broth could be from cubes, but only use one cube for 2c. water).
--Bring to a boil then lower heat, cover, and simmer about 1 1/2 hours. Serve with rice or polenta.
The great thing about this dish is that you can "hold" it, reheat it, etc.. so, while the cooking time isn't short, you have a lot of flexibility. I got it from Mario Batali's "Molto Italiano" which I was suprised to find is a very good cookbook. I'm not big on celebrity chefs, but Italians have asked me for this recipe, so I'll give him his props.
Buon appetito.
