| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 20 min |
| Prep: | 5 min |
| Cook: | 15 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 3 turns of the pan in a slow stream
- 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 (6-ounce) cans Italian tuna in olive oil, drained
- 1/2 pint small cherry or grape tomatoes, coarsely chopped
- Coarse salt and black pepper
- 1 pound gemelli pasta — short braids of pasta or other short-cut pastas can be substituted, such as penne rigate, cooked to al dente in salted water
- 1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped, about 3 handfuls
- 20 leaves fresh basil leaves, shredded
Instructions
- Heat a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil and garlic to the pan. When garlic speaks by sizzling in oil, add tuna and mash into oil with the back of a wooden spoon. Let the tuna sit in the oil 5 to 10 minutes to infuse the fish flavor into the extra-virgin olive oil and to give the tuna time to break down — it will almost melt into the extra-virgin olive oil. Raise the flame a bit and add the coarsely chopped tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Heat the tomatoes through, 2 minutes, then add hot, drained pasta that has been cooked to al dente. Add parsley to the tuna and pasta and toss to combine well and evenly coat pasta. Adjust seasonings. Top pasta with shredded basil and serve.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 698 |
| Total Fat | 19 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Carbohydrates | 89 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 5 g |
| Sugar | 4 g |
| Protein | 41 g |
| Cholesterol | 15 mg |
| Sodium | 617 mg |
Reviews
My family loves this pasta. I usually use a whole pint of tomatoes. Also, I use west coast albacore tuna instead of the Italian tuna, since it is overfished. The tuna can be either water or oil packed; if water packed, just add a little extra EVOO.
I thought this was good AFTER adding lots of salt and parmesan cheese. My four year old loved it as is, without anything added.
Excellent recipe. I’ve made this dish lots of times and friends request it all the time. It’s quick and easy, but it tastes super gourmet. Be sure to use the Italian tuna.
I just made this and it was delicious. I was scared it wouldn’t have that much flavor, but the cooking of the tuna in the garlic oil really makes a difference. All I had was regular tuna and it was still good. I added a little hot red pepper flakes, and I added arugula while cooking the tomatoes, as well as some onion powder. Topped it off with fresh basil and a tiny bit of lemon zest. The result is the pasta really does have a lot of flavor!
I did not have all the Italian tuna but made it with the light tuna with water and it still was a hit with everyone that tasted it. I plan to make this a regular recipe and the next time I will make sure I have all the correct ingredients. Also, I am going to share this with my granddaughters since it was so easy to make. Thanks Rachael; this was a winner!
i thought it was too many garlic but you can not even taste it
If you’re going to steal, I guess you might as well steal from the best…
http://www.jill.net/recipes/recipes/pasta_tuna.html
Like many of RR’s recipes this is bland, too fattening, and unoriginal. 3 tbsp of olive oil?? On top of tuna packed in it? Ridiculous.
This was pretty good. I did change a few things, like adding fresh spinach. I also changed the tuna because I didn’t want to drive to our Italian store. My grocery store had everything except the right tuna. I bought “yellow fin” tuna. One was marinated with garlic in olive oil and the other was marinated with lemon in olive oil.
The lemon tuna gave it a nice lemon flavor, not too strong, just a nice taste. The tuna itself was very mild.
This dish was a nice change, my family ate it and enjoyed it. I will make again.
I’ve never been a big fan a tuna but this dish made tuna a hit