Sometimes, I just feel like making a less elaborate meal with pantry staples, like canned tuna and tomatoes. It does not take away from either flavor or nutrition and it makes for a quick lunch or dinner.
You can use any kind of pasta but pappardelle or fettuccine work great. When tomatoes are in season I use fresh ones instead of canned. Tuna is a great source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids but it is also high in mercury, which is a toxic heavy metal. The safest canned options (from the lowest mercury content to the highest) are light tuna, skipjack or albacore. Yellowfin (or ahi) tuna is higher in mercury. You can get chunk or solid canned tuna depending if you like smoother texture or larger pieces. The same goes for tuna packed in water, oil, with added salt or no salt. Tuna packed in oil and with added salt has obviously more flavor but I prefer to add oil and salt to any dish myself and control the flavor as well as my intake of fat and sodium. I like the Wild Planet brand for cooking.
Tuna pappardelle
Ingredients
- 3/4 lb pappardelle or fettuccine about 3/4 package
- Salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 15 oz-can crushed tomatoes or 2 fresh chopped tomatoes
- Parsley picked and chopped
- Pepper
- 10 oz canned tuna drained (2-3 cans)
- 2 tbsp anchovy paste
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in salted water and drain.
- Heat oil in a saute pan and add the garlic. Cook just for a minute so it doesn’t burn and become bitter.
- Add the tomatoes, half of the parsley, salt and pepper. Simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes.
- Crumble in the tuna and add the anchovy paste. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Mix with the pasta.
- Plate and garnish with parsley.