Recipe: Spaghetti with anchovy, tuna and caper sauce

This yummy recipe is pantry cooking at its easiest and best. If the basics are of good quality, the result can be spectacularly delicious.

Ingredients
12 ounces dried spaghetti
2 tablespoons virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, slivered
6 to 8 anchovy fillets in oil, drained
9 ounces (1-1/2 cans) canned white tuna in olive oil, drained
3-1/2 tablespoons white wine
6 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained
3 tomatoes, chopped
4 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, chopped
16 basil leaves
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
1 Cook the spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water for about 8 minutes or following the instructions on the box, until al dente.

2 Meanwhile, heat the 2 tablespoons virgin olive oil in a frying pan, and add the garlic. Sauté gently for 2 to 3 minutes.

3 Add the anchovy fillets and cook very gently until they break up and turn to a mush. Increase the heat and stir in the tuna.

4 Heat the fish mixture for a few minutes, covered, then pour in the wine and allow it to evaporate off and reduce. Stir in the capers, tomatoes, and sun-dried tomatoes.

5 Drain the pasta, reserving a little of the cooking water. Toss the spaghetti and the sauce together in a warmed serving bowl. Add a little of the cooking water if the sauce is too thick.

6 Stir in the basil and the 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot, with some crusty bread and a lively white or red wine.

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Excerpted from Food for Cooks by Clare Ferguson. Copyright 2003 by Clare Ferguson. Excerpted with permission by Whitecap Books. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

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