Can-Do Attitude!
Sometimes it’s surprising how a few humble ingredients can become something so good! Sure, I like a tuna sandwich, and I’ve been known to add a can of tuna and some frozen peas to macaroni and cheese. But this super easy recipe featuring canned tuna defies expectations!
You can totally keep all the ingredients on hand, as this is a true pantry dinner. I decided to publish it in this past week’s Berkshire Eagle because it’s quick and easy when it’s so hot (as it has been lately), and it’s also great any time of year when you don’t have time to plan and shop and do anything involved for dinner!
HOT, HOT, HOT!
by Elizabeth Baer
The heat has been hanging around lately, and the air feels heavy, and, as unusual as it is for me, some days I haven’t had much motivation to think about what to make for dinner. While there’s always the possibility of going out to eat or ordering in, that quickly becomes tiresome, and quite expensive, too!
Though extensive travels in Italy – including a semester in Rome during college – and the many Italian cookbooks I own and the many more I have borrowed from the library and read, I have learned that canned tuna is very much a thing in Italy. Traditionally the big meal has been lunch (although that is changing), with an easy, light dinner later in the day. A common option for dinner in the summer might be a salad of green beans and potatoes with some canned tuna for protein.
Generally speaking, however, the canned tuna in Italy is much better than our American brands, mostly because it’s usually packed in olive oil. But even if you can’t find Italian tuna, or you just happen to have a stack of regular cans of tuna in the cupboard because they were on sale, you can drain it and add olive oil to make it more Italian.
Canned tuna, along with a can of tomatoes, is also popular for making a quick pantry pasta, which is great on a hot day (or even in the middle of the winter when you’ve had a crazy busy day and it’s so cold out you just want to find something in the pantry for dinner). I realize cooking pasta sounds like a steamy endeavor, but when the temperature rises, I make sure to pick a pasta with a short cooking time, like thin spaghetti, which for most brands takes 5-7 minutes. (I wouldn’t use angel hair here because it goes from al dente to mushy in about a second!) The sauce can come together in the time it takes to cook the pasta. I’m often extra lazy here when I cut a clove or two of garlic in half, allow it to flavor the oil, and then remove it before serving, just to save me the task of cleaning out the garlic press or scrubbing the cutting board.
Although this preparation would always used dried pasta (and Italians have strong feelings about what shape goes with what sauce), on a really hot day, you could shorten the pasta cooking time even more by using store-bought fresh pasta. I promise I won’t tell anyone! (I also won’t tell anyone if you decide to serve this with grated cheese, although Italians never serve grated cheese with seafood.)
I love this dish just as written, or you can elevate it a bit with the addition of capers and olives. Either way, the ingredients for this dish are easily kept on hand in the pantry, so you can always have something quick and easy to make for dinner!
PASTA WITH TUNA AND TOMATO
Serves 2, can be doubled
INGREDIENTS:
8 ounces pasta, preferably dried, a thin strand for faster cooking
One 4- to 5-ounce can or jar tuna
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil plus more as needed
1-2 garlic cloves, halved
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Pinch fresh ground pepper
Pinch red pepper flakes, optional
Capers or chopped olives, optional
One 14-ounce can tomatoes, whole, crushed, or purée
DIRECTIONS:
Bring a salted pot of water to a boil and toss in the pasta.
As the water is coming to a boil, or even once you’ve tossed the pasta in, make the sauce. (If using fresh pasta, which cooks in 2-3 minutes, start the sauce before you add the pasta to the water.) If the tuna is imported and packed in olive oil, empty all into a medium sauté pan and add a tablespoon of olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan well. If using tuna packed in water or vegetable oil, drain well, empty into medium sauté pan, and add 2-3 tablespoons olive oil.
Add the halved garlic cut side down, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes, capers or olives if using, and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally. After a couple minutes, add the tomatoes. If using whole tomatoes, take care when crushing either by hand or with a spoon as they tend to squirt. Warm through. Remove the halved garlic cloves and discard.
When pasta is al dente according to taste or package instructions, move the pot right next to the sauté pan with the sauce. Remove the pasta directly from the water into the sauce, using tongs for a strand or a spider or strainer for a shape. Reserve about ½ cup pasta water. Combine the pasta and sauce, adding pasta water, a little at a time, if it seems too thick.