Spaghetti with Olive-Oil-Poached Tuna in Tomato-Fennel Sauce

Name: Spaghetti with Olive-Oil-Poached Tuna in Tomato-Fennel Sauce
Yield: serves: 4 to 6
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon fennel seeds; 1 pound cleaned tuna belly; Kosher salt; 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper; Extra virgin olive oil; 2 cloves garlic, smashed; 2 bay leaves; 1 thyme bundle, tied with butcher’s twine; Extra virgin olive oil; 4 onions, cut into 1/4-inch slices; 1 fennel bulb, cut into 1/4-inch slices, fronds reserved for garnish; Kosher salt; Pinch of crushed red pepper; 5 cloves garlic, very thinly sliced; 1 28-ounce can San Marzano tomatoes, passed through a food mill; 1 tablespoon fennel seeds, toasted and ground (reserved while preparing the tuna); 1 pound spaghetti; Big fat finishing oil

December 9, 2011

I used to go to Lupa, Mario Batali’s Roman trattoria on Thompson Street in Manhattan, and eat preserved tuna belly with beans. It was SOOOOO good! The tuna belly—which is a highly underrated ingredient—becomes succulent and delicious when it’s slow-poached, and that’s exactly how I cook it. I use it in a pasta sauce that’s full of tomatoes, fennel, and lots of garlic to create a wonderful tomato-y, perfume-y, olive oil-y dish that just screams of Sicily. One of the great things about tuna belly is that because it’s considered the throwaway part of the fish, it’s really cheap. You have to spend some time cleaning it, but usually if you pay a bit more you can get it already prepped from your fishmonger (much easier!). If you can’t find tuna belly or don’t feel like making it, a good substitute is Sicilian tuna packed in olive oil.

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