Spaghetti al tonno is one of my all-time favorite go-to pasta dishes. I love a classic meat sauce as much as the next half-Italian, but when I want something quick and easy for a weeknight meal, I reach for the tuna. What if you don't like fish? Then this is perfect. The taste and texture is really closer to a veal sauce than one made with fish.
Ingredients
- olive oil: 2 Tbsp
- anchovy fillet: 1 piece
- capers: 2 Tbsp
- garlic: 3 clove (minced)
- dry white wine: 0.5 cup
- oregano: 0.25 tsp (dried)
- pinch red pepper flakes: 1 piece (to taste)
- Italian (plum) tomatoes (such as San Marzano): 3 cups (crushed)
- salt and ground black pepper: (to taste)
- pinch cayenne pepper: 1 piece (to taste)
- oil-packed tuna: 1 can (7 ounce can, drained)
- fresh flat-leaf parsley: 0.25 cup (chopped)
- spaghetti: 1 pack (12 ounce pack)
- extra-virgin olive oil: 1 Tbsp (to taste)
- freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese: 0.25 cup (to taste)
- fresh flat-leaf parsley: 1 Tbsp (to taste, chopped)
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir anchovy and capers in hot oil until anchovy crumbles, about 2 minutes. Add garlic; cook and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.
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Pour white wine, oregano, and red pepper flakes into the skillet and increase heat to high; cook until mixture reduces and about 3 tablespoons of liquid remain, 2 to 4 minutes.
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Stir tomatoes into the skillet and bring to a simmer. Season tomato mixture with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until slightly reduced, about 10 minutes.
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Stir tuna and 1/4 cup parsley into tomato sauce, breaking up tuna with a wooden spoon while stirring. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 10 minutes.
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Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until almost cooked through and still slightly firm to the bite, 9 to 11 minutes. Drain and transfer spaghetti back to the pot.
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Pour tomato sauce over spaghetti into the pot; stir to combine, cover the pot with a lid, and let sit until spaghetti is cooked through, about 3 minutes. Ladle spaghetti into bowls, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, and sprinkle Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and parsley over the top. Ann Leroux
