Buongiorno! This tuna pasta recipe has been with me since my student days and I still make it whenever I don’t know what to cook. It’s my comfort food which I like to eat on my couch while watching something on YouTube. It’s quick, easy, budget friendly and you probably already have most of the ingredients at home.
I have developed the recipe a bit over the years, but I always keep these 5 ingredients: pasta, tomato sauce, tuna, capers and red onion. I like to use fusilli pasta for this recipe as the sauce goes perfectly into the spirals. I season the sauce with smoked paprika for a bit of extra depth, but you can use regular paprika powder as well. Then I let it simmer, adding the capers at the very end to make sure they still have a bit of a bite. I like to serve this tuna pasta with mini mozzarella (small mozzarella balls) and a bit of parmesan. Sometimes I swap the capers for green olives, which makes the sauce similar to the filling of my Tuna Empanada.
This recipe is a perfect meal for a busy weekday. I hope you like this easy tuna pasta recipe as much as I do!
Tuna Pasta
Adjust servings here:
Equipment
- frying pan
- cooking pot
Ingredients
- 200 grams fusilli pasta
- 160 grams canned tuna
- 400 grams tomato pulp or chopped tomatoes
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 red onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 35 grams capers
- 125 grams mini mozzarella or regular
- 1 tsp smoked paprika powder
- a bit olive oil
- fresh basil
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
- Remove the outer peel of the red onions and cut them in halves. Then, slice the onions thinly.
- Peel the garlic and grate or chop it.
- Heat a frying pan, add olive oil and sauté the red onions until they start to turn brownish.
- Add the garlic to the sautéed onions and mix well.
- Drain the canned tuna and remove any oil. Use a fork to break up the tuna and add it to the frying pan.
- AAdd the seasonings: smoked paprika powder, salt and pepper.
- Add the diced tomatoes and bay leaves. Stir until well combined, cover with a lid and let simmer for at least 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, boil water and cook the pasta with salt according to package instructions.
- Remove the bay leaves and add the capers. Stir, then add the cooked pasta and mix until it is all combined.
PLATING
- Serve the tuna pasta in a bowl or on a plate. Top with mini mozzarella, parmesan cheese and a few basil leaves.
Enjoy!
