Closet Cooking

Cooking adventures in a small, closet sized, kitchen. - I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years. It was time for a change! I now spend my free time searching for, creating and trying tasty new recipes in my closet sized kitchen.

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Tuna and Caper Tomato Pasta

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Tuna and Caper Tomato Pasta

With the holidays quickly approaching I have been pretty busy and because of that I have been looking for some relatively quick and easy meals that do not compromise in flavour. Pastas work really well in these situations and not only is this pasta is absolutely packed with flavour but the recipe is straight forward and it only takes about a half an hour to make. Another plus is that I very often have all of the ingredients on hand, either in the fridge or in the pantry so it really is one of those ‘go to’ meals. The sauce for this pasta dish is pretty similar to a puttanesca sauce with the addition of tuna to make it a bit heartier. The capers and olives are responsible for a lot of the flavour in this dish and they really carry the day. If you want to simplify things even more you can easily skip the wine or replace it with some chicken broth. You can also omit the anchovies, though they also add a lot of flavour and you won’t even see them in finished product. You could easily top this pasta off with some grated cheese but it hardly needs it.
Now that dinner is made, its time to get back to baking! 🙂

Tuna and Caper Tomato Pasta

Tuna and Caper Tomato Pasta

Cook Time:40 minutes Total Time:40 minutes Servings: 4
ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 small onion (diced)
  • 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 cup white wine (optional)
  • 1 (28 ounce) can plum tomatoes (crushed)
  • 2 tablespoons capers (drained)
  • 1/4 cup kalamata olives (pitted and diced)
  • 2 anchovies (minced, optional)
  • 1 can tuna (drained)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 pound spaghetti
  • 1 handful parsley (chopped)
directions
  1. Heat the oil in the pan at medium heat.
  2. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
  3. Add the garlic and chili pepper flakes and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
  4. Add the white wine, deglaze the pan and then simmer until it has almost all evaporated, about 5 minutes.
  5. Add the tomatoes and capers and simmer until the sauce just starts to thicken, about 10 minutes.
  6. Add the olives, anchovies and tuna and simmer for 10 minutes.
  7. Meanwhile, cook the pasta as directed
  8. Season the tomato sauce with salt and pepper to taste.
  9. Remove the tomato sauce from the heat and mix in the parsley.
  10. Toss the pasta in the sauce and serve.
Similar Recipes:
Spaghetti alla Puttanesca
Spaghetti alla Marinara
Maccheroni Calabresei alla Arrabiata
Tilapia Piccata
Chicken Puttanesca
Cod Poached in Arrabbiata Sauce

Take a look at the Presto Pasta Nights roundup on From Kirsten’s Kitchen to Yours.
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  12. Jean says

    December 11, 2010 at 3:39 pm

    This is my kind of pasta–packed with flavor! Just made a similar one recently but I'll have to try this version with the tuna and a tomato base. Thanks!

    Reply

  14. Deborah says

    December 11, 2010 at 4:36 pm

    I have been seeing lots of recipes with tuna in them lately -and it reminds me that I haven't had tuna in quite awhile! This looks like the perfect fast dinner.

    Reply

  25. Jennifer says

    December 13, 2010 at 12:35 pm

    Any pasta any way – and the Thai dishes look wonderful! My daughter in law is Cambodian – wish you could have dinner with us – you'd love it. My younger son and his girlfriend live in Korea and their great cooks too. Me – Italian – but can whip up a dishwoman! Thanks for the recipes, Jennifer jennsthreegraces

    Reply

  27. Joshua says

    December 13, 2010 at 5:08 pm

    looks wonderful, I go nuts for anything with good capers in them. One little suggestion – taste the kalamata olives first, if they are very bitter or strong, reduce the amount a bit, they can box with the capers and overpower them.

    Reply

  34. Anonymous says

    December 15, 2010 at 4:24 pm

    Tuna, anchovies, capers, tomato, pasta, all in one dish ?!!! YUM!!!!! I have to make this, soon!

    Thanks for the post!!!

    Reply

  35. Passiflora says

    December 15, 2010 at 11:09 pm

    Hi Kevin, I run into your blog by chance, I am italian and I really appreciate your interpretation of our recipes, but most of all I like when you mix the different traditions and create something new! bye!
    Come visit me on my blog if you ever have a minute: I link recipes to movie reviews. (it is in italian, of course, but I'm planning to create an english version too)
    BYE!

    Reply

  38. Ruth Daniels says

    December 17, 2010 at 11:57 am

    What a great holiday gift! Thanks for sharing this stress free delish dish with Presto Pasta Nights.

    Hope to see many more of your tasty treats in 2011.

    Wishing you all the best for the season.

    Reply

  42. nonna23 says

    December 5, 2016 at 2:23 pm

    So glad that you posted this recipe, as I have never seen it anywhere else. I learned how to make this many years ago when we were living in the small town of Arenzano west of Genova, Italy from a very sweet Italian lady, Senora Conchetta, that lived near us. Her recipe included celery, but no capers or olives. Over the years I have regularly added mushrooms & after reading your recipe I will include the capers & olives. I have found that the best tuna to use is Tonno in olive oil in the glass jar. It is as close to Italian tonno as I've found. Thanks for your work & sharing.

    Reply

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