Penne Pasta with Tomato-Garlic Tuna Sauce and Mint

It happens way too often. It’s mid-week, you’re busy (and tired) and find yourself standing in the pantry at 6pm searching for ideas. With all the back-to-school activities this time of year it can happen to anyone. A few years ago we stumbled upon this recipe from Cooks Illustrated that has now become one of our “rescue” dishes that we can prepare faster than take-out delivery. It doesn’t require thawing anything ahead of time. Just grab two cans of tuna, a few ingredients you probably already have on hand, and watch the transformation happen. We kept this one true to the recipe by using our traditional balsamic vinegar and a single varietal EVOO. Try this once and you’ll see how the combination of a few simple ingredients can deliver full-bodied flavor in less than 30 minutes. Experiment with different flavored balsamic vinegars; we just might try our Fig balsamic next.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 tablespoons Olive This! Single Varietal EVOO, divided
• 6 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 2 tablespoons)
• 2 cans (14 ounces each) of diced tomatoes, drained
• ½ cup red wine
• 2 cans (6 ounces each) of solid white tuna, well drained and separated with your fingers
• salt
• 1 tablespoon Olive This! Traditional Balsamic Vinegar
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
• 1 pound penne pasta, cooked until al dente
• ¼ cup pasta cooking water
• freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Before draining your pasta…

…reserve ¼ cup of the pasta water and set aside. You’ll add this to the sauce at the end.

While the pasta is cooking, you can prepare your sauce ingredients. Drain the diced tomatoes, chop the mint, measure out the red wine, mince the garlic and break apart the tuna with your fingers.

In a medium skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the EVOO and 1 tablespoon of the garlic over medium high heat. Stir to let the garlic cook and become fragrant but not browned – less than 1 minute. Add drained tomatoes, stir to combine and cook for another minute.

Next, add red wine and simmer for 1 minute or until sauce bears no trace of alcohol.

Add tuna and 2 teaspoons of salt. Cook for about 1 minute, stirring frequently until tuna is heated through.

To a large bowl, add your pasta, the tuna-tomato mixture, the remaining 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the ¼ cup of reserved pasta water, the 2 tablespoons of chopped mint, and the 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar.

Adjust seasonings by adding salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

SERVES 6

Have a comment? We’d love to hear from you. Have you tried this dish? Do you have a variation that you think others will enjoy? Leave us a comment below.