Barca Tuna sauce

Author Notes

Though I love planning holidays, I still forget things to pack. This time, I remembered the salt, sugar, tomato ketchup, my homemade pancake mix – a blend of flour, ground oats, bran, cinnamon and maple flakes, orange tea and hagelslag. I forgot the rice, the pasta, noodles and everything else in between. We arrived Barcelona hungry and I berated myself.

Right across from our holiday apartment, there is a store. We go in and I head for the carbohydrate aisle, past the beans and rice and straight for the quick cook pasta. J picks up a pack of broken spaghettini and I make that two. Once we know what dinner is made off, we think about the sauce. We spot some sardines, in search of corned beef and tuna. I grab a tin of aceituna neguila – black olives, a bottle of smooth tomato sauce, a jar of preserved red piquillo peppers, 2 onion bulbs, some garlic, vegetable oil, bacon bits and Leon’s chorizo. French bread, regular bread, eggs and milk; cans of coca cola, fanta and a large bottle of agua later, we’re done. Ready to make our first family dinner in Spain.

Back in the kitchen, I bang pots about and the end result is something like this - a delicious sauce that has us hankering for more - every single one of us! Fingers are licked. Plates wiped clean and a personal reminder to myself - pack right. —Kitchen Butterfly

Test Kitchen Notes

This is a quick, smart, and surprisingly complex Spanish pantry sauce that would do any pound of pasta very proud. If you're like me and embrace the chicken of the sea, then you'll want to increase the tuna by another can and maybe even throw in a few anchovies when you're sizzling your tuna oil. It's spicey and rich and the bacon and tomato combo is, as you would expect, delectable. —favabean