Simple but good

BEFORE you dismiss this recipe, try it. The combination is somehow more than the sum of it's parts. And it can be made any time of year, unlike most of these recipes since EVERYTHING (except the salad, of course) comes in a tin or a box.

Heat a large pot of boiling water for your pasta. Pasta 101: you need a large amount of water to pasta because otherwise the pasta cools down the water too much and cooks it slowly all the way through (not what you want). You want it to cook faster on the outside so that it is still chewy in the center. Add about a tablespoon of kosher salt (or a teaspoon of table salt) to your water. Have the sauce ready before the pasta is done cooking. The pasta is best if it is put into the sauce still dripping wet with hot starchy water. This way it also doesn't have time to get mushy or stick together. Never rinse your pasta or toss it in oil or butter if you are adding a sauce. The sauce will slide right off instead of sticking to the noodles.

Sauce: Heat a skillet and then add about half a cup of olive oil. Add 3 large cloves garlic sliced paper thin. Add a hot red chili (or some red pepper flakes) and one can of tuna (preferably, good tuna, packed in olive oil). Crush the tuna with a fork until it has completely fallen apart and almost looks saucy rather than chunky. Add some canned (or fresh, if it's the season) tomatoes and simmer for a few minutes. Add salt to taste. When pasta is done, add it immediately to the sauce. Eat! This is really good, by the way, with a whole head of green garlic, which should be out in the markets soon.

The salad was just a reminder to me of how good something so simple can be. I bought a small head of really fresh lettuce from the market and drizzled it with good olive oil and balsamic vinegar and sprinkled it with salt.