029 / 75 · Fish Without Fuss
Tuna Tomato Pasta for Two
2 pasta bowls, each with half the tuna-tomato sauce and pasta · Active 20 min · Total 45 min
Print recipe · PDFCanned tuna needs much less time in the pan than a tomato sauce. This pasta softens onion and simmers the tomato first, then folds in the drained fish near the end so flakes remain distinct. A measured amount of reserved pasta water helps the sauce cling. The recipe is a useful introduction to coordinating a saucepan and a skillet without trying to cook every ingredient from the start.
Make the sauce before adding fish
The onion should soften before the garlic goes in. Garlic cut finely enough to flavor a sauce can burn quickly in a bare pan, so its short stir is followed promptly by tomatoes. Keep the sauce at a modest simmer while the pasta cooks; occasional stirring reaches the base and prevents a thick patch catching. Tuna from a water-packed tin is already cooked. Drain and weigh the edible fish before flaking, rather than counting the water printed in the tin’s net weight as part of the portion.
Save water before draining
Put a small heatproof cup beside the saucepan as a reminder. Just before draining, remove some cooking water and measure the 60 ml allowance. Add it to the sauce a spoonful at a time after the pasta enters the skillet. Different pasta shapes and tomato brands need different amounts, so the goal is a coating that moves with the pasta rather than a fixed watery depth. Fold tuna gently through the hot sauce at the end; prolonged vigorous stirring turns it into fine dry threads. Taste a cooled piece of pasta to judge its center instead of relying only on the packet’s shortest time. Divide pasta and fish evenly between two bowls. Parsley is the measured finish, and cheese or extra oil would be additions outside the base estimate.
Ingredients
- About 2 cups dry short wheat pasta (160 g; weigh because shapes vary)
- 6 cups drinking water (1.5 litres), for boiling pasta; reserve 60 ml before draining
- Water-packed light tuna, well drained (160 g edible)
- 1 can crushed tomatoes (400 g/about 14 oz), including juice
- 1 small onion, finely diced (80 g)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced (6 g)
- 2 teaspoons olive oil (10 ml/about 9 g)
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley (5 g)
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt (1.5 g), added to sauce
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper (0.3 g)
Set out
3-litre/3-quart saucepan, 28 cm/11-inch skillet, Sieve, Small heatproof cup, Spoon or tongs, Can opener if needed, Knife and board, Kitchen scale
Allergens
Fish, Wheat; pasta may contain egg—check its label. Check labels and substitutions.
Make it
- Bring the pasta water to a boil in the saucepan. Heat oil in the skillet over medium heat and soften onion for 5–6 minutes. Add garlic for 30 seconds, then add crushed tomatoes, salt and pepper. Simmer gently for 12–15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Meanwhile boil pasta for its packet time until tender with a little bite. Before draining, take out and measure 60 ml cooking water in the heatproof cup. Drain the pasta.
- Add pasta to the tomato sauce and turn for 1 minute, adding reserved water a tablespoon/15 ml at a time only until the sauce coats the shapes. Fold in drained tuna and heat gently for 2–3 minutes until hot through, keeping some flakes intact.
- Stir in the parsley and divide all pasta and tuna sauce equally between 2 bowls. Serve promptly.
A useful kitchen skill
Reserve cooking water before tipping pasta into the sieve, then use a measured little at a time rather than flooding a finished sauce.
A useful detail
The 45-minute total includes water heating and overlapping sauce/pasta cooking. Pasta is weighed dry and tuna after draining. The base contains no cheese or extra finishing oil.
Another way
- Use 160 g dry whole-wheat pasta and calculate for that pasta, following its packet time.
- Replace tuna with 160 g drained canned salmon, removing unwanted firm bones and calculating for the exact product.
Keep it well
Refrigerate leftovers promptly in shallow containers at 40°F/4°C or below within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F/32°C. Use within 2 days. Reheat the needed portion to 165°F/74°C throughout with a little drinking water to loosen the sauce; tuna will break up more on reheating.