Pasta with Tuna in Creamy Tomato Sauce

When I was in Manila, my sister cooked a yummy tuna pasta with a creamy sauce and the other day I suddenly had a strong craving for it. I looked around our pantry shelves to see if I still have some canned tuna lying around. Thankfully, I found one. Unfortunately though I didn't have any mushrooms to go with my pasta. I thought I'd have to find a way somehow to make a yummy and creamy tuna pasta without mushrooms.

Tuna Omelette

When I was about to begin college back in the early 90s (am revealing my age here now!), I moved from my province (Marinduque) to the big city (Quezon City, Metro Manila) where my university was located. This meant that I could not see my cousins as often as I wanted (we were neighbors and lived in the same town in Marinduque). 

Usually, during weekends I would visit their place so I could stay with them for a day or two and just enjoy their company. More often than not, if we are not watching a movie or malling (window shopping), we just stayed in their city apartment. I love those days --- if we just stayed home then it meant time would be spent singing our hearts out in front of the karaoke machine (this is the quintessential Filipino past time!). Thankfully, their neighbors tolerated our music and never once ever reported us to the authorities for violating the nuisance law.

For merienda (Filipino term for "snack"), we would often have our favorite Lucky Me Pancit Canton... sarap!!! (delicious!)


 Photo is from  http://nansantamaria.aminus3.com/image/2008-07-01.html.

Apart from munching on Lucky Me, one of my fave food memories was when we ate Tuna Omelette for lunch, courtesy of their super cook and all around help, Ate Lanie. Wow,   I do miss her world-class adobo too....but that would be for another post.  

Before I ever had Tuna Omelette in their house, I never really liked Tuna, especially the canned variety. Eeeewww. But I have been converted ever since and now am a canned Tuna lover.

When I am out of ideas on what to have for lunch (yes, there are such days) and all I can find in my pantry are canned tunas and a few eggs on my fridge, voila Tuna Omelette is my first choice. It's just comfort food for me and brings me back to those days in Sampaloc, Manila.  

Ingredients

2 cans of Tuna (pref. in oil, not the water packed ones cause they're tasteless)
2 eggs
Salt and pepper, to taste
a little oil, for frying 





Procedure

Heat a little oil in a frying pan.

Drain the liquid from the canned tuna and place it on a bowl.

Set the tuna on one side of the bowl and place the eggs beside it. Scramble the eggs.
Mix the tuna with the eggs. Season with salt and pepper.

I usually divide this  dish into four. I use a  measuring cup (1/3 cup capacity) to divide it evenly.

Once the oil and the pan are hot enough, fry each omelette. You can fry two or more at the same time depending on how big your pan is. Flatten the tuna to distribute it evenly and get an even browning. Fry till the egg has set and it's golden brown, roughly 3-4 minutes.

Flip and fry on the other side until it's fully cooked - golden brown and crispy.

Transfer to a plate and serve immediately with rice on the side and some peas too. Traditionally, we eat this with ketchup but my kids prefer mayo. So use whatever works for you.