Tuna Pasta with Capers & Lemon

• 350 glinguine or spaghetti
• 2 x 145gtins tuna in olive oil, drained, oil reserved
• 2 tbspoil reserved from the tuna tins
• 4cloves garlic, finely sliced
• 2 tbspcapers, roughly chopped
• 1 tspchilli flakes
• 2lemons, zested and juiced
• 20 gfresh parsley, roughly chopped
• 2 tbspolive oil
• 50 gParmesan, finely grated
• 1 tbspbutter
• Fine salt and black pepper

Method

1. 1Drain the tuna into a bowl and measure out 2 tablespoons of its oil for the sauce. Put a large pan of salted water on to boil. Cook the linguine until al dente, around 9–10 minutes. Before draining, scoop out a big mugful of the starchy water.
2. 2While the pasta cooks, warm the 2 tablespoons olive oil and the measured 2 tablespoons reserved tuna oil in a wide pan over medium heat. Add the sliced garlic and chilli flakes and cook just until fragrant and pale gold, around 60–90 seconds.
3. 3Stir in the capers and let them sizzle for 30 seconds; the heat takes their sharp edge off and pushes them into the oil. Flake in the tuna in proper chunks and turn it through gently. You want texture here, not paste.
4. 4Add the lemon zest and the lemon juice straight into the pan; the acid wakes up the tuna and capers and stops the whole thing tasting flat. Tip in the drained pasta with a generous splash of the reserved pasta water and toss hard for a minute so the starchy water emulsifies with the oil.
5. 5Pull the pan off the heat. Add the butter and Parmesan and toss again until the sauce turns glossy and clings to every strand; off the heat is the trick, or the Parmesan seizes into clumps. Now taste. The capers and Parmesan carry most of the salt, so season with black pepper first, then taste again and add a pinch of sea salt only if it needs it.
6. 6Pile into warm bowls and scatter generously with the chopped parsley. The zest and juice of both lemons are already in the sauce.

Per serving

kcal

611

protein

27.9g

fibre

4.8g

carbs

71g

fat

24.6g