Food is extremely important as it gives us what we need to live but it goes much deeper than that. Food to people now is not just necessary to survive but it is what brings so many people together from different backgrounds or thoughts. It is something that has been a glue for many people around the world for years. It gives families the excuse to sit down and spend time together bonding and talking for time periods in which many families would not interact with each other or talk. It is used to comfort and to show a good welcome to people entering one’s home or to spruce up a party or event. The meal that is so important is called Tuna Bolognese. This meal is so important to me besides the fact that it is my favorite tasting dish.
The first time I had this dish was when my family and I went on our first family trip down to cape cod when I was about 8 or 9 years old. We had got word of a small restaurant that was quite well known in the area called Blackfish. If you drove down the road from the house we rented there was a small hill that led to a parking lot with an even smaller building that looks like a small beat up cottage with a big metal sea bass on the front. We called for a reservation and had walked in to be seated. There was a very dim lighting as if half the lights in the restaurant were broken or out. As you looked around you saw all local art and welding pieces scattered across the wall. There was such a local and almost rustic feel inside as the walls were all wooden and the rooms were lit up by those dim lights which had an early nineteen hundred feels to it. The tables were not covered by cloths and had the silverware laid out of what seemed to fancily stitched napkins. There was an old styled candle that ran on oil only that stayed lit and gave an extra bit of light for when you sat down and ate. We got sat at our table and the waitress came over immediately to take our drink orders and didn’t make us wait more then 30 seconds unlike many restaurants would. Our drinks came out and my family started talking and joking for a little bit until we had ordered our food. My father and I bother ordered the Tuna Bolognese. He had ordered it because he is a big fan of different types of fish and is always willing to try it. I opted out of buying a nice prime rib because my father had told me that he knew I would like the dish and I wasn’t really a fan of fish when I was younger. I had trusted my father’s thought on what I would like despite being shaky on the idea of having a dish that had fish instead of a steak which is likely my favorite overall type of food. The food had come out being brought over on a wooden platter carried by the waitress. The meal was garnished very well and looked amazing as it was placed in front of me and my father. He had laughed and made a joke that I would never be able to finish the whole plate seeing that it was bigger than my head. I laughed because I knew I could prove him wrong and eat the whole thing. It had a very meaty and non-fishy taste to it which came as such a surprise as it is tuna which has a very distinct and distinguished taste. It was just an amazing way to start of a family vacation that is usually doomed from the beginning with me and my brother always fighting and messing with each other. It reminds me of a simpler more fun time with less worries or cares about my future or the world around me.
My father has the same favorite dish as me. He had the same experience as me as we both tried the dish for the first time on that same night. My father’s description of the restaurant isn’t as in depth as mine was but gives the same general idea if you were to use your imagination. He said that the restaurant is a “Small, cozy restaurant in a converted cape style house on the outer cape. Wonderful laid back, yet lively atmosphere. Other scenes consist of making it home on a cold, wintery night”. He is a big fan of the cape style of places and the rustic feel. He decorated our home with rustic feeling paintings and decorations to give it a simpler. The dish had the same feel as the restaurant as it was somewhat fancy but fit with the atmosphere of a cozy and home feeling dish. He doesn’t only enjoy the feel and thought behind the dish but the taste of the dish as well. He describes his experience of tasting the dish as “Not knowing what to expect, I dove into it with an undiscriminating pallet. Not knowing what to expect, I was surprised at the soft, yet subtle flavor”. What he is saying describing this dish as how he just figured go head on with the dish and not prep himself or have expectations for what the dish could taste like. He says the dish is soft and subtle saying that the tuna was far from overwhelming, but you could still get hints of the fish in the dish which was pleasant. Another thing in his mind with the dish is the memory of the moment in which my brother and I had tried the dish for the first time not knowing what to expect and not really enjoying fish most of the time. His first memory of the dish was “Memories with the family, vacation, and loving the look on my boys faces as they enjoy it”. When my father and I used to spend time together before I got older it was one of his favorite things. That’s why spending time together and getting to see my reactions to new things was one of his favorite things.
This dish has many in depth meaning and bits of love with it. It comes with tons of memories and emotions. They remind you of simpler times and sooths your mind if you need to remember things that brought you or your loved one’s joy. If you must food can make you think about the good times and connections you made with people rather than the stress and difficulty in something that is going on in the present. This dish brings back the good times of life when everything was easier and simpler when there were less concerns. It means so much as it did change my life a bit and made me start to enjoy trying new foods and get closer to my father as it got me cooking with him and spending time.
Ingredients:
- 2 TBSP butter
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 6+ cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 pounds of sushi-grade tuna steaks, cut into cubes
- 6 oz. pancetta, chopped
- 1 bottle of red wine (Italian preferably and good enough to drink)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 can crushed San Marzano tomatoes
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 pound of tagliatelle or spaghetti
- Mascarpone
- Lemon peel zest
- 1 Lb. tagliatelle pasta
- ½ cup pasta water, reserved
- Parsley for garish
- A touch of parmesan (but don’t tell a true motherland Italian, as cheese in seafood dishes is an egregious no-no)
Instructions:
Chop the tuna and pancetta into small cubes and pulse in a food processor until mushy and meat breaks down. Chop the onion, carrot and garlic.
Heat the butter and olive oil to medium high heat in a Dutch oven or good copper large sauce pan. Sauté the onion and carrot until soft and the onion is translucent. Add the chopped garlic and sauté for 1 more minute. Increase your heat to high and add the tuna and pancetta mixture and cook until tuna is cooked through, about 5 to 6 minutes.
Keeping the heat on high, add the red wine, cinnamon stick and bay leaves and cook until almost fully reduced, roughly to 10% to 20% remaining, roughly 10 minutes.
Add one can crushed tomatoes, water, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, adding salt and pepper to taste. When flavors are blended after 30 minutes, turn off heat and stir in heavy cream.
While sauce is simmering, cook pasta to al-dente, chop parsley, and zest fresh lemon.
To serve, thong tagliatelle pasta in a pasta bowl with some pasta water to keep loose. Spoon Bolognese sauce over helping of pasta. Put one tablespoon of mascarpone on top, garnish with lemon zest, parsley, fresh cracked pepper and fresh grated parmesan cheese.
To eat, mix together in bowl while hot to blend all garnishes. Enjoy!
