Pasta with Tuna, Tomatoes and Capers, a Store-cupboard Special
April marks the arrival of the Hungry Gap in the UK – the period between the end of winter crops and the first harvests of spring. Many people aren’t aware that this gap exists, or what it truly means. Before I started working with my local veg-bag scheme a decade ago, I didn’t either. Thanks to supermarkets, we’re accustomed to fully stocked shelves year-round, and even market stalls or veg-bag schemes that focus on seasonal produce find ways to bridge the gap
So, when April offers little seasonal produce to get excited about (aside from wild garlic, which, I’ll admit, is starting to feel like a food writers cliché), I turn to my store cupboard.
Pasta with a simple tinned tomato sauce has been a staple of mine since I first taught myself to cook at university cough 20 years ago. Sometimes I throw in pancetta, sometimes extra vegetables, but this purely store-cupboard version with tinned tuna is my absolute favourite. This tuna pasta is nothing groundbreaking – just another variation on a classic – but it’s a meal I return to time and time again. And yet, I’ve never actually written down my version. The olives are optional; the capers are not.
I always use tinned tuna in olive oil, Cirio or Mutti tinned tomatoes, and De Cecco pasta – these, I find, give the best results. Leftovers keep well, and are great to pack up to take to the office to eat cold, or warmed through in the shared microwave.
- 1 x ~150g tin of tuna (chunks or steak) in olive oil, drained (reserve the oil)
- 1 clove garlic, sliced
- 2 tbsp capers
- pinch chilli flakes (optional)
- 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes + pinch caster sugar
- handful, aprox 40g black kalamata olives, stoned and halved
- Handful fresh herbs - oregano, parsley or chives, finely chopped
- 180g dried pasta, I like fusilli or rigatoni for this sauce
- Salt and pepper
- Extra-virgin olive oil to serve
- First make your sauce. Heat the oil from the tuna can in a frying or saucepan big enough to take the pasta and the sauce over a medium heat. Fry the garlic, capers and chilli flakes for around 30 seconds till starting to colour, then add the tomatoes, sugar, season with salt and bring to the boil, then simmer gently for around 10-15 minutes (or longer if you can the sauce will benefit from it).
- Meanwhile bring a large salted saucepan of water to the boil and cook the pasta according to the timing recommended on the packet (approx 10 mins).
- When the pasta is almost ready, add the tuna and olives to the sauce, and continue to cook till everything is piping hot.
- Drain the pasta and add into the sauce, season to taste. Plate up and sprinkle over your herbs and an extra drizzle of good quality olive oil.