Cousin Reid's Tuna Pasta Salad

So as you can tell by the name, this isn't my recipe, but one that my cousin Reid shared with me on a recent dinner catch up. First let me describe Reid, he's a 6'4 mountain of a man, the kind of guy that has seconds of seconds and then still has room for dessert. 

Let's just say, he has a BIG appetite, so when he shared his staple pasta salad with me, I knew it must be good. Reid will make a batch of this to last him for a couple of days; dinner, and the next couple of days lunches sort of thing. 

Ingredients (6 servings; or 4 Reid sized serves): 

• 500g packet of spiral or shell shaped dried pasta
• 4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 cup of canned corn kernels, drained  
• 1 punnet of cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 stalks celery, sliced 
• 425g can Chunky Style Tuna in oil, well drained 
• handful of parsley, finely chopped 
• 2/3 cup of mayonnaise - Best Foods is good, just not light mayo
• 1/2 cup green pitted olives, sliced - optional 
• 1/4 cup red onion, finely diced - optional  

Cook the pasta according to packet directions. *You could boil the eggs in the pasta water if you need to, just add the room temperature eggs to the water when there is 9 minutes of cooking time left. 

While the pasta is cooking prepare the vegetables and pop them into a large salad bowl. Half the tomatoes, drain the corn, slice the celery and olives (if using) chop the onion (if using) and parsley. 

Drain the tuna and add it to the salad bowl with 2/3 of a cup of mayonnaise. 

Once the pasta is cooked, drain well and add to the salad bowl. Use two dessert spoons to toss everything together till coated and well mixed. Chill until required. 

Chicken and Olive Tagine

I'm a big fan of aromatic foods, particularly Moroccan dishes. Technically a tagine is a curry, but more aromatic (cinnamon, cloves, ginger) than heat like you would get from an Indian curry. In saying that, this number does have a little chilli which can be increased or decreased to taste. If you don't have a tagine to cook this in, don't worry. A large saucepan with a lid will do the same job. Just when you pop the lid on, be sure to tilt it a little so a small amount of steam can escape, but effectively it keeps most of the steam circling inside. 

I serve this with a simple couscous and some harissa spiced yogurt, but it would be equally nice served with rice, roasted or mashed potatoes. You could also serve it with plain yogurt, or coconut yogurt, or simply eat it as is. I just love the sweet and spicy kick that you get from adding the Julie Le Clerc Spicy Harissa paste to the yogurt. 

Ingredients (serves 4): 

• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1 tsp peppercorns
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp crushed ginger
• 4 cloves crushed garlic
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 400 grams of free range skinless chicken thighs
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, sliced on a diagonal
• 1/2 cup of green or black olives - I've used pitted black olives this time
• rind of 1 lemon
• 1 cup of chicken stock

Couscous

• 300 grams couscous
• 450 mls boiling water
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup of finely chopped fresh parsley - mint or coriander would work if you don't have parsley
• 1/3 cup of dried dates or apricots, finely chopped

To Serve

• 1/2 cup of plain unsweetened yogurt 
• 1-2 tbsp of Julie Le Clerc Harissa paste
• Steamed green beans - or other greens - to serve

In a dry frying pan, heat the cumin seeds, cloves and peppercorns till toasted and aromatic. Remove from the pan and crush with a mortar and pestle. Place in a non-metallic bowl with the remaining spices: paprika, ginger, garlic, chilli, bay leaves, salt and olive oil, mix well, then add the chicken thighs. Stir to coat and set aside for at least 30 minutes, or alternatively overnight. 

Heat the base of the tagine, or a large saucepan and add the chicken pieces, browning each side for a couple of minutes. Add the onions and carrots and stir so the onion begins to soften. Finally add the chicken stock, lemon rind and olives. Use the addition of the liquid to lift any flavoursome sticky bits from the bottom of the pan. Place the lid on top, and simmer on a low heat for 20 - 35 minutes till the chicken is cooked through - cooking time will vary depending on the size of your chicken pieces.

Meanwhile prepare the couscous. Mix the boiling water and olive oil with the couscous. Cover and set aside for 5 minutes to absorb. Add the lemon juice, parsley and dried fruit. Stir to combine. 

Mix the yogurt with the harissa paste and serve in a small bowl alongside the tagine. 

Once the chicken is cooked, remove to a serving plate, spooning the onions, olives and juices over the top of the pieces of chicken. Serve with couscous, spiced yogurt and green beans.

If you liked this recipe you could also try my Lamb Tagine with Cranberry and Almond Couscous