Bougie Tuna and Shells

One of my mom’s go-to weeknight dinners was tuna and shells. The recipe was two cans of Bumble Bee Tuna, one box of Mueller’s pasta shells, Mt. Olive sweet relish, a generous amount of Hellman’s Mayo, and (of course) salt & pepper. If you were to put tuna and shells in front of me right now, I’d devour it in a flash.

This dish isn’t that, but it wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for that bowl full of nostalgia (and some extra cash to spend at the grocery).

Ingredients

1 ahi tuna steak, cut into bite-sized cubes

1/4 cup pancetta, diced

1 cup of cherry or grape tomatoes

1/2 cup peas

2 cups rigatoni

1/2 kewpie mayo (Hellman’s will suffice)

1 tbsp sriracha

Salt and pepper

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The perfect bite will have one of everything

Instructions

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and prepare the rigatoni according to the package. In the final two minutes of cooking, add the peas to the pot with the pasta. When the pasta is al dente, drain it along with the peas but do not rinse. Set aside in the colander until Step 5.

2. While the pasta cooks, brown the pancetta in a medium skill over medium heat. Season the cubed tuna with salt and pepper and allow to sit at room temperature while the pancetta crisps.

3. Once the panchette is browned, remove it from the pan using a slotted spoon and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Turn the flame down to low. (If the grease in the pan is starting to smoke, take it off the heat until it cools a bit.) Gently place the tuna in the skillet and cook for 30 seconds-1 minute on all sides or until opaque. DO NOT OVERCOOK THE TUNA! Place the tuna on the same paper towel with the pancetta.

4. In that exact same skillet, toss in your tomatoes and let cook while giving the pan a few shakes until the tomatoes are just about to blister. (Don’t worry about bringing the temperature back up, you’ll have enough residual heat in the pan from the pancetta and tuna.)

5. In a large bowl, combine the mayo, sriracha, and salt and pepper. Toss in the pasta and peas and gently stir to coat. Fold in the tuna, pancetta, and tomatoes until combined. Season with extra salt and pepper to taste, if necessary.

   Tip: This is delicious served slightly warm, but if you’re one of those people who gets freaked out by warm mayo, toss the bowl in the fridge for 30 minutes before serving.