Moroccan Tuna Bolognese (TTH)

Tomato Sauce

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, minced
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• Two 28-ounce cans San Marzano tomatoes in juice [ATK says San Marzano is not at all inherently better quality and I take what they say as gospel]
• One 4-inch piece Parmesan cheese rind [Didn't have this]
• 1/4 cup finely diced charcuterie scraps, such as prosciutto or hard salami rinds (optional)
• 4 teaspoons dried oregano
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 18 to 20 fresh basil leaves [I threw the basil into the back of the fridge even though I knew they were a strong possibility that they would freeze and become ruined...  C'est la vie.]
• 5 to 6 leaves from an organic or nonsprayed tomato plant (optional) [Better be]

Tomato sauce mise en place.

Cook onion and garlic until softened over medium heat.

Add tomatoes, mash with potato masher and simmer for 1 hour.

Moroccan Tuna Bologneese

• Three 6- to 8-ounce tuna steaks
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
•  1 carrot, finely minced
• 1 stalk celery, finely minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon Moroccan spice blend [I'm judging you if you need to resort to this] or 1 teaspoon each ground coriander, cumin, and cinamon
• 1 bay leaf
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup dry sherry or red wine
• 2 cups Tomato Sauce
• 1/2 cup pitted Picholine or other green olives, roughly chopped
• 2 teaspoons grated orange zest, plus more for garnish
• 1 pound Fresh Pasta Dough, rolled out and cut into linguine, [Didn't happen], or store-bought dried linguine
• Juice of 1/2 lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
• 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled, for garnishing
• 1/4 cup mixed chopped fresh dill, parsley, and basil [I think I just had parsley]

Mise en place.

Very finely mince one of the tuna steaks and cook in olive oil over medium-high heat until it begins to brown.  Remove with slotted spoon.

This is a utensil I didn't exactly have when I cooked this, but I do now.

Add aromatics (I guess I need to be more explicit here and say this only includes the oncion, carrot, and celery.) and cook until softened.

Add garlic, spices, bay leaf, and salt and pepper.  Cook to toast spices.

Add tomato paste and cook to caramelize.

Add tomato sauce and cooked tuna.  Bring to a boil.  Simmer until the sauce is very thick, 25 to 30 minutes.

Stir in the tuna chunks, green olives, and orange zest, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.  Taste and adjust seasoning.

Add pasta to the sauce, then add the lemon juice and half the feta and herbs.  Toss until pasta is well-coated.
Sprinkle with remaining feta, herbs, and extra orange zest if I really wanted to bother pulling out the microplane again.