Pasta with Tuna

By John, 7 June, 2020
Region
Italy
Description

Sicilian Pasta with Preserved Tuna

Tuna is popular in Sicily; it's used in this classic Sicilian dish, usually made with a long pasta like spaghetti, or the bucatini shown here, dressed with green olives. 

This is an easy recipe that comes together quickly so it's suitable for a weeknight after work.  

You don't use BumbleBee fancy white albacore tuna for this, but the more tender Italian preserved tuna belly in olive oil that we usually see in glass jars. You can always find it in an Italian market and sometimes in better supermarkets. 

Yield
4 Servings
Preparation time
30 minutes
Ingredients
2 T Olive oil
1 Red Onion (thinly sliced)
2 c diced tomatoes
1 c Crushed tomatoes
2 T Capers (rinsed)
2 T Dried oregano
8 oz Italian Preserved Tuna (2 glass 6.7 ounce jars, drained )
8 Green Olives (pitted and sliced)
1 lb Long Dried Pasta (Pasta di Gragnano if available )
Instructions
  1. Put on a big pot of salted water to boil for the pasta.
  2. In a skillet, saute the sliced onions until translucent.
  3. Add the diced tomatoes, the crushed tomatoes, capers, oregano, tuna and olives. Stir it all together and bring it to a simmer.
  4. Cook the pasta, then drain it into a big bowl.
  5. Add the tuna sauce and toss it all together until the pasta is well-coated.
  6. Transfer to a nice serving bowl and serve hot.
Notes

I keep the olives whole in this dish. It's a compromise because I really like cooked olives and my wife hates them. Keeping the olives whole results in a milder taste that she can enjoy and I still get my olives!

The tuna often comes packed in oil in a 6.7 oz jar. Each jar has 4 oz tuna belly, so you need two jars for the main recipe, for 1 lb pasta.