Tuna sauce on pasta

November 13, 2012  •  Category:

 

This is a poor man’s pasta dish that delivers a refined taste that will have you begging for more. If you can, use spinach tagliatelle or the best egg pasta you can find; luckily here in Beirut boxed pasta comes straight from Italy and this one cooks in 2 minutes. That leaves you 20 minutes to make the sauce from scratch with an onion, a can of good tomatoes (we still get fresh ones here) and a can of tuna (this one is from Spain). 


INGREDIENTS: 4 generous servings 

  • 8 oz of spinach tagliatelle, extra-fine (or any other boxed egg pasta)
  • 1 large onion
  • 1 large can of tomatoes or 1 lb of tomatoes, diced
  • 2 cloves of garlic, mashed in a mortar with a teaspoon of salt
  • 1 can of tuna in oil (about 6 oz)
  • 1/4 cup of olive oil, plus more to coat the pasta
  • 2 tbsp of chopped parsley for garnish (optional)
METHOD:
  1. Heat the olive oil and fry the onion till soft and golden, about 10 minutes, over medium-low heat. Add the diced tomatoes with their juice (enough juice for at least 2 1/2 cups); simmer the sauce for 15 minutes or longer; drain the tuna and add to the sauce, splitting the large pieces with a fork and let the tuna cook a few minutes with the tomato sauce. Add the garlic the last few minutes of cooking, taste and adjust seasoning. Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box and drain; coat the pasta with a swigger of olive oil and serve with the sauce. 
Recipe was inspired by Marcella Hazan’s Cookbook on Classic Italian cuisine.

Comments

7 Comments  •  Comments Feed

  1. Reply

    Rosa says:

    Tasty! I love tuna fish. This is a perfect pairing.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    On November 13, 2012 at 4:29 pm

  2. Reply

    Banana Wonder says:

    Mmmm love this combination!

    On November 13, 2012 at 8:43 pm

  3. Reply

    Hisham Assaad says:

    I cooked something similar last weekend. It was DE.LI.CIOUS
    I used onion and garlic, fresh tomatoes, LOTS of dried oregano and basil and some tomato paste. Then added the tuna and cooked the pasta in the same pot so that it would absorb all the flavor.
    We were 2, and we ate the whole amount (it could have probably fed 3)

    On November 14, 2012 at 6:42 am

  4. Reply

    sippitysup says:

    This is a classic. It’s not seen much in the USA, but in my youthful travels of Europe I remember eating it a lot… GREG

    On November 14, 2012 at 11:09 am

  5. Reply

    Devaki says:

    I am with GREG on this one – versions of this are all over Europe and I love it. So simple and hearty – I even serve these over baked potatoes or on salad when I need low carb. The flavors are just delish Joumana 🙂

    chow! Devaki @ weavethousandflavors

    On November 14, 2012 at 1:27 pm

  6. Reply

    Susan says:

    Delightful tuna pasta dish! I tend to have always make my old standards with tuna – this is one I’ve love to try.

    On November 14, 2012 at 7:55 pm

  7. Reply

    Nuts about food says:

    Pasta with tuna is a household favorite. Was missing for a few weeks and came back to find your new photo. Love it!

    On November 15, 2012 at 4:27 am

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