The Washington Post, November 16, 2011
If you have plenty of holiday cooking just ahead, you'll appreciate the simplicity of this pantry-driven main course.
Leftovers taste great cold.
Serve with warm garlic bread.
4 servings
Ingredients:
Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add a generous pinch of salt and the pasta; cook according to the package directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water.
Rinse and dry the watercress; you should have at least 1 1/4 cups. Drain (and discard) the oil from the tuna.
Finely grate the zest of 1/2 to 1 orange to yield 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons, letting it fall into a large serving bowl. Cut that orange and the others in half; squeeze them to yield 3/4 cup of juice; add 1/2 cup to the bowl, along with the olive oil, vinegar, mustard and crushed red pepper flakes, whisking to combine. Add the watercress and the drained pasta, tossing to combine and coat evenly. Taste, and add some or all of the remaining orange juice, as needed; if the orange flavor is too prominent, use some of the reserved pasta cooking water to dilute the sauce.
Scatter the drained tuna over the pasta. Sprinkle with a small pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, if desired.
Serve right away, family-style, at the table.
Adapted from "<a href='http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1416206434?ie=UTF8&tag=slatmaga-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creativeASIN=1416206434'>Ying's Best One-Dish Meals</a>," by Ying Chang Compestine (Sellers, 2011).
470 calories, 18g fat, 3g saturated fat, 20mg cholesterol, 470mg sodium, 49g carbohydrates, 5g dietary fiber, 6g sugar, 26g protein.
Serving size: Per serving (using regular dried linguine) 470 calories, 17g fat, 3g saturated fat, 20mg cholesterol, 470mg sodium, 50g carbohydrates, 2g dietary fiber, 5g sugar, 27g protein.
