Summer. Pasta with tuna, parsley, basil and capers

I have never waited so eagerly for my holidays like this year. I will go again to the seaside, in Maremma near Castiglione della Pescaia, just like when I was a little girl. We started again doing a shopping list, trying to organize the cars, the baggage, who brings what, the rackets, air beds and books.

Years ago it was mum and aunt Silvana who were the captains of this merry company, two families which became one for a few weeks, me and my cousin like missed sisters. We would start planning our holidays together months in advance, we would explore the pine forest, build sand castles grand as palaces, we would swim for hours and talk till late night in our tiny beds.

This year we are 5 friends, we planned and dreamed of this week for months, the sun salutation in the morning, the afternoon sleep, walking along the beach, playing in the sand, a midnight swim, food festivals in the area, our dogs as the mascots of the holiday. This time the list is our responsibility, we are trying to decide what to bring with us – and I’m already putting aside my sharp knives, a cookery book on fish and I’m fighting with myself not to bring the juicer. We are active participants of our holiday.

It has been years since my last seaside holidays, I’m literally counting down the hours, I can not wait any longer to jump into the car and drive for one hour and a half along that road made of bends and shadows I know by heart, the road that as a child led to the sea and to the endless games with Margherita, the road that now leads me to the sea, my friends and a week of off line rest (maybe).

In the meantime, waiting to leave for the seaside, I enjoy my Tuscan summer at the best. Among a cooking class and another I started walking again, with perseverance and a lot of satisfaction, and every evening I lose myself in the sun burnt fields, where the mint releases a strong and balsamic smell as you step on it, the fruits ripen on the branches and the first blackberries peep out of the brambles. I know this light, it’s the light of the August evenings that makes everything golden, lifts you up from the reality for a moment and brings you back to the late afternoons of many years ago, when you felt free and invincible as only children in summer can feel.

Then there are the tomatoes from the garden, the crunchy cucumbers, the first aubergines, the dinners outside in the garden with my parents, with Noa chasing butterflies and lizards in the background and Wolfi, languid, finally enjoying the fresh air in the middle of the lavender flowerbed.

This is one of my favourite summer dishes, pasta with tuna, parsley, basil and capers. Nothing particularly refined, but so simple, immediate and fresh. While the pasta water boils just finely chop fresh basil and fresh parsley and a good handful of capers, then add good quality canned tuna and finish with a generous drizzle of your best extra virgin olive oil. It tastes like summer, holidays, lazy afternoons spent reading your favourite book in the shade of an old tree, midnight swim and cicadas concerts.

This might be one of the most popular dishes during our seaside holidays in Maremma. I can not wait: a table in the shade, a group of friends and a bowl of tuna pasta with parsley, basil and capers.

So, time to say goodbye for a while! I’ll be back on the 26th of August with a refreshing recipe. Do not forget to subscribe to the Newsletter, because next week I’ll send you a new exclusive recipe and warm hugs! Have a great August everyone!

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