Fusilli Alla Sorrentina (Sorrento-Style Fusilli)

Fusilli alla Sorrentina is the kind of pasta the Amalfi coast was built on: olive-oil tuna broken up by hand into a garlicky skillet, simmered with fresh tomatoes, briny black olives, and a generous splash of dry white wine.

The mint leaves at the finish are what set this version apart from any other tuna pasta. Torn in at the end, they stay bright and peppery, cutting through the richness of the fish and tying the sauce to its Sorrento roots.

Use tuna packed in olive oil, not water. The oil carries flavor into the sauce and keeps the fish from going dry. Crumble it by hand so you get rough shreds that cling to the spirals of fusilli instead of dissolving into mush.

The corkscrews catch the chunky sauce in every twist. Drain the pasta slightly under al dente, toss it straight into the skillet, and let it finish in the tomato sauce for the last minute so the starch thickens everything up.

Chef Tips

• Cube ripe summer tomatoes with their skins on for texture, or peel them if you want a smoother sauce.
• Reserve a ladle of pasta water before draining. A splash loosens the sauce if it tightens up in the pan.
• Do not add mint until the heat is off. High heat turns it muddy and kills the lift.
• Skip grated cheese on this one. Southern Italians almost never put parmesan on seafood pasta, and the olives and tuna already bring the salt.

Variations

• Swap Kalamata olives for a sharper, winier bite.
• Add a pinch of chili flakes with the garlic for a Neapolitan-style kick.
• Stir in a tablespoon of capers along with the olives for extra brine.