The Killer Pasta I Make Once I Have No Time and No Plan

I’ve authored greater than my justifiable share of pantry pasta recipes on this web site, however the one I flip to probably the most is from my previous colleague and buddy Sasha Marx. On an evening when I’m caught in an “oh crap I have to feed the children and it is nearly bedtime” second (which is most nights, if I am being trustworthy), his recipe for pasta al tonno is the one I nearly all the time make. The result’s assured to be extra particular than the effort and time I put into it might counsel.

With simply the fundamentals within the cabinet—a can of tomatoes, some olive oil–packed tuna, garlic, dried spaghetti, purple pepper flakes—it is a breathtaking dish that may be whipped up in minutes. Boil the pasta, fry the garlic till calmly golden, simmer the sauce, flake within the tuna, toss all of it collectively, and executed. The parsley is a pleasant addition, a contact of contemporary inexperienced taste added proper earlier than serving, but it surely’s elective. The pasta is best with it, but it surely’s nonetheless nice with out it.

Suggestions for Making the Greatest Pasta With Tuna

I solely have a few ideas. The primary is an often-repeated one: The standard of the components issues. With so few elements, pasta al tonno solely really shines when the canned tomatoes are nice ones; when the tuna will not be your run-of-the-mill dry puck that is greatest blended with mayo for tuna salad (canned ventresca, the stomach, is a splurge, but it surely’s nice right here); and when the spaghetti has that tough texture from bronze-die extrusion and never the slick, plasticky really feel of a budget grocery store stuff.

The second is to take your time. Sure, this can be a fast recipe. However let the garlic flip golden slowly, growing its taste and infusing into the oil with out taking over an acrid, over-fried taste. Make sure to pull the pasta a bit early from the water and end it within the sauce so it is coated in a slick, tomatoey glaze. All instructed, it is an additional two or three minutes, insignificant within the scheme of issues, however crucial within the execution of the dish.

The result’s a scrumptious, brilliant, and fruity tomato sauce, studded with substantial morsels of tuna and a lightweight marine taste that may even make a Tuesday evening style such as you’re on the Italian Riviera.