One summer while in college, I was fortunate enough to have studied abroad in Italy. The first region I stayed in was Umbria; a beautiful green countryside in a small town called Orvietto. Between my art history and Italian literature classes, I had leisure time for exploration, including PRANZO (lunch in Italian)! One of the town’s little cafe’s lunch favorites was this type of pasta salad dish made with simple, fresh ingredients. You only cook the pasta and make a “raw sauce“ to toss it in. The whole dish takes 15 minutes, tops! Perfect for lunchtime or a quick dinner! In my version, I use wild canned salmon instead of tuna due to the high mercury levels we now are aware of. And it’s also gluten free, Fit Foodie-style, as usual ;-)
Pranzo Italiano
-12 Oz organic gluten free fusilli (I highly recommend Bio Naturae)
-1 can wild salmon, drained
-1/4 sweet onion minced
-2 garlic cloves minced or crushed
-1 cup cherry tomatoes
-handful of basil chopped
-1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
-1 sprig fresh thyme, destemmed
-salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
-1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
-1/3 cup tomato paste (Cento Organic is my fave!)
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DIRECTIONS: Set a pot of salted water to boil the pasta. Cook pasta to al dente according to package directions, stirring occasionally. In the meantime, chop all herbs, garlic, onion, halve the tomatoes and set aside. In a large bowl combine oil, garlic, onion, herbs and tomato paste and stir until a “sauce” is formed. Add in fresh tomatoes, salt and pepper. Once the pasta has cooked, toss it in the sauce. Lastly, add the drained canned salmon and gently toss. Adjust spices to taste. 👌🏼😋Buon appetito!
