Recipe video above. One of the pantry-pasta greats. I love this recipe because it really showcases what great food you can make using canned tuna! Fabulous flavour beyond just canned tuna thanks to the anchovies, the freshness of lemon and tangy capers. The oil from the can of tuna is used as the sauce so don't be tempted to use tuna in brine!
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time15 minutesmins
Course: Mains
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: canned tuna recipe, pantry pasta, tuna pasta
Servings: 2
Calories: 637cal
Author: Nagi
Ingredients
200g / 7ozspaghetti, or other thin long pasta
1tbspcooking salt, for cooking pasta
Tuna sauce:
285g/ 10 oz(approx)canned tuna in oil, drained, oil reserved (I use 3 x 95g/3.5oz cans, Note 1)
2clovegarlic, finely minced
2anchovy fillets, minced (Note 2)
1/2tspchilli flakes / red pepper flakes(can skip, Note 3)
2tspbaby capers(or finely chopped pickles)
1tbspparsley, finely chopped (ok to skip)
1tsplemon zest
2tbsplemon juice(sub 1 tbsp apple cider or sherry vinegar)
1/4tspcooking/kosher salt
1/4tspblack pepper
Instructions
Cook pasta - Bring 3 litres / 3 quarts of water to the boil with the 1 tablespoon of salt. Cook pasta per the packet time minus 1 minute. Just before draining, scoop out ~1 cup pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta.
Sauté aromatics - In the same pot, heat the reserved oil from the tuna cans over medium heat. Add the garlic, anchovies and chilli flakes. Cook and stir for 1 minute.
Toss pasta - Add the pasta, capers and 1/3 cup of reserved pasta water. Toss using 2 spatulas for 2 minutes.
Add tuna - Turn off the heat. Add tuna, parsley, lemon zest, juice, salt and pepper. Toss gently to mix through - try to keep some tuna chunks.
Serve immediately!
Notes
1. Tuna - Don't get too hung up on tuna quantity here, the recipe can take a little more or a little less. I use 3 x 95g/3.5 oz cans, the small "lunch size" cans. You just want enough tuna to serve 2 people.If you only have tuna in brine, use 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil instead.2. Anchovies add great flavour here. Substitute with 1 tsp anchovy paste. If you don't have either, it's still worth making if you're using tuna in oil as the oil has good flavour too!3. Chilli flakes add just a background hum of warmth in this recipe. Feel free to dial it up or down.4. Leftovers will keep for 2 days in the fridge though pasta never really reheats well, especially these types of pasta that don't come with loads of tomato or creamy sauce. Microwave reheating is best, with a splash of water (or better yet, keep some pasta cooking water!)