Cart-Driver Spaghetti

I recently borrowed a wonderful cookbook from my local library, 'Antonio Carluccio's Simple Cooking'.  I'd like to share one of his pasta recipes called Spaghetti alla carrettiera (Cart-Driver Spaghetti), which I absolutely loved.  It really is hard to explain just how delicious this simple dish is. 

You may note that I have labelled this recipe as vegan and vegetarian even though it contains tuna.  The tuna can easily be left out and I have made some notes at the end about making some adaptations if needed.  The dried porcini make the dish and there simply isn't any substitute.

What you will need:

200g spaghetti (gluten free)
salt and pepper
1 small onion, peeled and finely sliced
4 tbsp olive oil
2 ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
25g dried porcini (ceps), rehydrated and finely sliced (I used the already sliced ones)
100g canned tuna in oil, drained

What you need to do:

1.  For the sauce, fry the onion in a pan with the olive oil until soft (about 6 minutes).

2.  Add the tomatoes and fry for 15 minutes.

3.  Meanwhile put the pasta on to cook.

4.  Add the sliced porcini to the pan and some of their liquid, along with the tuna and some salt and pepper to taste.

5.  Drain the pasta and mix with the sauce.  Serve immediately.

 Variations:

• I cooked this again and added some kale.  I simply chopped it roughly and added it at step four.
• For a vegan/vegetarian option just leave out the tuna.  You could add kale, as above, or even stir through some cannellini or borlotti beans instead.

Recipe taken from:  'Antonio Carluccio's Simple Cooking', published in 2009.  ISBN 978 184400 734 9