Canned Tuna Pasta Recipe From Italy

4.98 from 39 votes

Canned Tuna Pasta Recipe From Italy

This recipe from the Aeolian Islands is a no-cook recipe, meaning you only cook the pasta. The combination of tuna, capers and mint mixed in lemon juice and olive oil gives this dressing a lot of flavour and the result is so fresh and summery.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian, Mediterranean, Sicilian, Southern Italian

Keyword: canned tuna pasta, spaghetti with tuna, tuna pasta

Servings:

Calories: 448kcal

Author: Jacqui

Ingredients

14 oz pasta (I used spaghetti)
8.5 oz tuna canned or in a jar
3 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
½ cup capers salted
6-8 mint fresh leaves
1 lemon
salt
black pepper

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Put a large pot of water onto boil for the pasta. Add salt once the water starts boiling.
In a food processor or blender, add capers, mint leaves, tuna, extra virgin olive oil, juice from the lemon, and some grated lemon rind. Season the tuna mixture with freshly ground black pepper,
Cook the pasta in the boiling salted water until al dente, as per the packet instructions. And before draining, reserve one cup of the pasta cooking water.
Add half the saved pasta cooking water into the tuna mixture and pulse a few times until you have a rough sauce (you don't want the is to be too smooth).
Add the drained pasta and tuna mixture into a large deep sauté pan or back into the pasta pot.
Place the pan or pot over medium heat and add the remaining pasta water. Slowly stir the pasta and cook until the sauce slightly thickens and looks glossy.
Turn off the heat and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately with a few whole capers and mint.

Notes

Some people make this dish without using a blender or food processor, just mixing the sauce ingredients together in a bowl. The sauce can also be cooked, but I like it the way I have described in the recipe best.
You can use other types of long or short pasta, depending on your preference. However I would recommend dried pasta not fresh if you want to make a creamier sauce using the pasta cooking water.

Nutrition