Pasta alla Strombolana is a culinary specialty originating from the island of Stromboli, in the Aeolian archipelago, north of Sicily. This dish takes its name from this volcanic island, famous not only for its persistent volcanic activity but also for its simple, Mediterranean gastronomic traditions.
The ingredients correspond to typical Mediterranean products and the traditions of poor cuisine ("cucina povera"), based on the ingenious use of the resources available on the island: Cherry tomatoes, black olives, capers, anchovies or tuna, garlic and chili pepper.
For Info: Capers are a condiment made from the flower buds of the caper bush. The flower buds are candied in dry salt or brine and preserved in vinegar. Capers are very present in Mediterranean culinary traditions. Their tangy flavor enhances the taste of fish, pizzas, mayonnaise, salads, and cold sauces, such as tapenade (tapena meaning caper in Provençal) and tartar sauce.
Pasta : 200 grams. We will favor Spaghetti or Linguine (a variation of spaghetti with a flattened, elliptical section).
Tomatoes: 12 Cherry Tomatoes. You can work perfectly well with canned tomato pulp (in this case I use the small 210g cans from Mutti). I said pulp, not tomato puree or concentrated tomato. The other option, which I prefer when I have some available, is fresh tomatoes. I use cherry tomatoes (also good quality, there's no mystery, if you use industrial tomatoes full of water, you won't get any flavor!) which I cut in half.
Tuna: 150 grams. Ideally, you should use bluefin tuna. You can also use anchovies, which is the "basic" recipe.
Black Olives: 10-12 nice pitted black olives cut in half or in thirds.
Garlic: A clove cut into small pieces
Chili Pepper: 1/2 fresh red chili pepper or 0.25 to 0.75 grams of cayenne pepper. That said, if you can't stand the heat, you can definitely do without it without it being a crime of lèse-majesté, unlike grated Emmental instead of Parmesan! For this spicy side, you can use half a fresh red chili pepper that you can cook like that and remove at the end of preparation before making the mixtures or you can cut it into small pieces after removing the seeds. You can also use it instead of ground cayenne pepper. Half a gram gives a spiciness that I find nice, I sometimes put 0.25 when someone has clearly specified that they are afraid of the spicy side or 0.75 when people like "it to be a little hot".
Cheese: This dish contains no cheese or cream, in true Mediterranean tradition—the vibrant flavors of anchovies, olives, and capers are enough to create a savory intensity.
Start the recipe 25 minutes before serving. I'm not talking about cooking the pasta since that depends on your pasta, so it's up to you to include heating the water and cooking the pasta in the timing. I cook on gas and for the pasta water, I heat a little water in the bottom of the pan and a liter and a half in the electric kettle. With this method, it takes me about 4 minutes to have boiling water in the pan.
M-25: Cut the tuna steak into cubes, the garlic and weigh 200g of pasta.
M-20: Heat the pan with olive oil. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half.
M-17: Add the cherry tomatoes cut in half to the pan - Season with salt and pepper.
M-15: Reduce the heat under the pan, add the garlic and chili if desired, then stir (stir even without adding chili).
M-05: Add the tuna to the pan and stir regularly.
M-02: Add the olives and capers. Mix.
M-01: Drain the pasta then add it, mix well for one minute then serve.
M: When serving, you can sprinkle with fresh parsley and possibly a drizzle of raw olive oil on top.
