Spaghetti with Tuna – a perfect weekday meal, ready in under 20 minutes

This Spaghetti with Tuna recipe is just perfect for a weekday meal. 20 minutes is all you need to recreate a fresh, yet nutritious and indulgent pasta bowl. A taste of Mediterranean flavours with every single bite. 

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It’s time for pasta, but not just any type of pasta! This Spaghetti with Tuna is among our favourites, and I’m giving you a fair warning, it might become yours too.

What ingredients do you need?

Here is a rundown of what this dish contains. A combination of capers, garlic, anchovy fillets, sun-dried tomatoes and chilli that add richness, saltiness and heat, infusing gently the extra-virgin olive oil. The cherry tomatoes add a bit of acidity and a delicate sweetness to the sauce creating the perfect base for the tuna. All flavours are lifted by the lemon juice and zest, and the scatters of flat-leaf parsley at the very end. A harmony of flavours beautifully combined with some spaghetti al dente. 

It is very important that the ingredients you choose to cook with are of high quality. Therefore, it’s worth investing in the best extra-virgin olive oil you can afford and especially tuna. One of my favourite tuna is from an Italian Brand called Rio Mare. Their quality is guaranteed by stringent controls and extremely thorough cleaning processes. Read more here. 

What kind of pasta should you use?

I am yet to encounter someone that doesn’t love pasta. It is a staple of Italian cuisine and is well-known in various ways around the world. What I have found over time though, is that a lot of people think that all pasta is the same. Meaning, you might think that you are paying just for the brand. Well, on this occasion this is not true! Of course, making your own pasta would be best, alternatively, some great options that I would recommend are Barilla and De Cecco. The attention to the ingredients, process and quality that these brands are second to none. 

In terms of the type of pasta, the most commonly used are spaghetti and bucatini but you could also use short pasta such as fusilli, farfalle or even penne. 

If this spaghetti with tuna recipe whetted your appetite, then follow the recipe below for the step by step instructions!

Spaghetti with Tuna

Yield: 2 Servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

This Spaghetti with Tuna recipe is perfect for a weekday meal. In under 20 minutes, you will have a fresh, yet nutritious and indulgent pasta bowl, showcasing beautiful Mediterranean flavours.

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Ingredients

• 200g spaghetti
• 1 tablespoon capers
• 2 anchovy fillets, finely sliced
• 1 garlic clove, crushed using a garlic press
• 2 sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 8 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice + zest from 1/2 lemon
• 1/4 red chilli (optional)
• 120g canned tuna in olive oil
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil + extra for finishing
• flat leaf parsley, a handful, finely chopped
• salt
• pepper

Instructions

1. Cook 200g of spaghetti in a large pot of salted boiling water according to pack instructions.
2. In a large pan, heat 3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add the capers, anchovy fillets, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and chilli. Cook for 2 minutes.
3. Add the halved cherry tomatoes and continue cooking for another 2 minutes until de tomatoes start to soften. Add a splash of pasta water if needed.
4. Combine the tuna, lemon juice and season with salt and pepper according to taste.
5. Drain the pasta, but keep a small cup of pasta water in case you need to add more to the sauce.
6. Place the spaghetti in the pan. Add a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, scatter the lemon zest and fresh parsley, stir to combine. Here you could add a bit more of the pasta water if you feel that it's needed. Serve right away.