Sunday, October 18, 2009

Tuna Carbonara

When I came back from Thailand last August, I was totally floored by the prices of all commodities in the market. The price of pork has gone up from 115 to 192, which used to be the price of beef. Beef has skyrocketed to 220 up to 280 or even more for some cuts. Now veggies are also priced as high as meat.

I was looking at the poor quality of the ground beef in the market which I was intending to use for spaghetti and macaroni and thought, why should I use beef? Why not try cheaper and healthier alternatives? I decided to make TUNA CARBONARA using what I could from my cabinet. Sometimes the pocket is a great dictator for creativity.

To make TUNA CARBONARA I gathered the following ingredients which I already had.

2 small cans of tuna(which my son Francis purchased during Ondoy's panic buying aftermath).

A half pack of powdered cream of Mushroom soup (tagal ng di nagagamit)mix with

A cup of leftover evaporated milk (1 can is equal to 1 3/4 cup) plus

A cup of water

1/4 block of cream cheese

A half cup of all purpose cream Mix the mushroom soup, milk, water, cream cheese and all purpose cream in a bowl and set aside.

In a pan, saute 6 cloves of garlic and a chopped onion. Then add a cup sliced mushrooms and the 2 cans of tuna. Pour the cream of mushroom soup mixture, add a dash of nutmeg, one Knorr Fish Cube, some Italian seasoning, oregano and marjoram.

Now here's the part that makes a difference. Instead of just mixing 200g of cooked linguini (flat spaghetti noodles) with the cooked white sauce, try plating. Place about a cup of cooked linguini on a plate, twist to make a rounded heap using a fork pour the TUNA CARBONARA sauce, add some grated cheese and some finely chopped parsley. This will turn your simple home-cooked meal into a gourmert looking meal. Enjoy!!!