Linguine with tuna, lemon and capers
Pasta al tonno in bianco: the flavourful oil from the tins forms the sauce base with garlic and peperoncino, lifted by capers and lemon. Large flakes of tuna go in at the end to stay tender, and the linguine's cooking water brings the sauce together. The same approach works for the chickpea plate.
Ingredients for two
| 220 g | Linguine 110 g per person |
| 224 g | Tuna in olive oil (160 g tin, 112 g drained) 2 × 160 g tins, each yielding 112 g drained tuna; chunks, not flakes |
| 20 g | Extra virgin olive oil 2 tbsp: 1 for cooking and 1 added off the heat at the end, in addition to the oil from the 2 tuna tins (about 35–40 g per tin, 70–80 g in total), reserved in step 1 |
| 10 g | Garlic 2 sliced cloves |
| 1 g | Chilli flakes (peperoncino) 1/2 tsp, or 1 small dried peperoncino, crumbled |
| 20 g | Capers 2 tbsp, rinsed; soak salt-packed capers for 10 minutes |
| 60 g | Lemon 1/2 lemon, zest and about 25 g juice |
| 10 g | Flat-leaf parsley a small handful, finely chopped |
| 1 g | Black peppercorns a few turns of the pepper mill |
| 25 g | Coarse salt for 2.5 litres of cooking water |
Method
- Bring 2.5 litres of water to the boil with the lid on. Drain the tuna over a bowl and reserve its oil (about 35–40 g per tin, 70–80 g for both). Separate the flesh into large pieces without flaking it finely. Rinse the capers, soaking them for 10 minutes if salt-packed. Slice the garlic, chop the parsley and finely grate the zest of the half lemon before squeezing it.
- Add 25 g coarse salt to the water, or 10 g per litre. Cook the linguine for 2 minutes less than the packet time (usually 8–10 minutes), stirring at the start to separate the strands.
- When the linguine have 4 minutes left, heat the tuna oil and 10 g olive oil in the sauté pan with the garlic and chilli over a medium-low heat for 2 minutes: the garlic should barely turn golden and the chilli should flavour the oil. Add the capers for 30 seconds. Reserve 200 g pasta water; off the heat, pour 80 g into the sauté pan, then keep on a low heat without reducing the water until the pasta is drained 1–2 minutes later.
- Transfer the drained linguine to the sauté pan, turning the heat up to medium-high as they go in. Toss and lift for 1–2 minutes, until the water and oil form a slightly creamy sauce that coats each strand. Add the tuna pieces and cook for another minute over a medium heat, gently lifting the pasta. Add a little reserved water if the pan becomes dry: the tuna should warm through without breaking into crumbs.
- Turn off the heat. Add the remaining 10 g olive oil, the lemon juice and zest, a spoonful of pasta water, freshly ground pepper and parsley. Toss vigorously off the heat for 20 seconds until the sauce turns glossy and creamy (mantecatura), then serve immediately: the sauce should cling to the linguine, with the tuna pieces still intact.
Fish-free
- Tuna in olive oil (160 g tin, 112 g drained) → Tinned chickpeas (400 g tin) 320 g (drained and rinsed weight, for 2 fish-free plates; for one plate of each, use 160 g chickpeas (2/3 of a tin) and just one tin of tuna (112 g drained))
- add Extra virgin olive oil 20 g (2 extra tbsp on the chickpea side, to replace the tuna oil)
- Step 3, for one plate of each: start when the linguine have 6 minutes left, using two pans in parallel. In a 24 cm frying pan, heat 20 g olive oil with 1 sliced garlic clove and half the chilli over a medium-low heat for 2 minutes, until the garlic is barely golden. Add the 160 g rinsed chickpeas and sauté over a medium heat for 2 minutes to coat them in oil. Crush a quarter of them in the pan with a fork, add half the capers for 30 seconds, then pour in 60 g pasta water: the mashed chickpeas bind the sauce like a pasta e ceci in bianco. In the sauté pan, when 4 minutes remain, as in the main recipe, heat the tin's oil (about 35 g) and 10 g olive oil with the other garlic clove and remaining chilli over a medium-low heat for 2 minutes. Add the remaining capers for 30 seconds, then 60 g pasta water. Reserve 250 g pasta water in total; keep both pans on a low heat until draining the pasta, retaining the spare water to loosen the sauces. Never let the tuna oil touch the chickpea pan.
- Step 4: put 110 g drained linguine into each pan over a medium-high heat and toss and lift for 1–2 minutes, until both sauces coat the pasta. Add the tuna (112 g, one tin) only to the sauté pan and cook for another minute over a medium heat.
- Step 5 is the same for both pans, off the heat: divide the final olive oil, lemon juice and zest, spoonful of water, pepper and parsley between them, using separate utensils. Serve both plates together.
The substitution is for 2 people, like all the quantities. For two fish-free plates, add 320 g chickpeas to a single sauté pan in step 3 with 30 g olive oil for cooking, both garlic cloves, all the chilli and capers, and 120 g water. Add the remaining 10 g oil off the heat in step 5, giving 40 g oil in total and no tuna oil. Never let the tuna oil touch the chickpea pan.
Lighter version
- Linguine : 140 g
- Tuna in olive oil (160 g tin, 112 g drained) : 224 g
- add Cherry tomatoes 200 g (halved; add to the sauté pan after the capers, 2 minutes before the pasta water)
In step 3, start when the linguine have 6 minutes left. Add the halved cherry tomatoes straight after the capers and cook over a medium heat for 2 minutes before adding the pasta water: they should burst and begin to soften into the oil.
70 g pasta per person, the full amount of tuna and cherry tomatoes that burst into the sauce.
On your plate
Recipe
697 kcal · protein 49 g · carbs 76 g · fat 20 g
Quantities per person
- 110 g Linguine
- 112 g Tuna in olive oil (160 g tin, 112 g drained)
- 10 g Extra virgin olive oil
- 5 g Garlic
- 0.5 g Chilli flakes (peperoncino)
- 10 g Capers
- 30 g Lemon
- 5 g Flat-leaf parsley
- 0.5 g Black peppercorns
- 12.5 g Coarse salt
Fish-free version
750 kcal · protein 24 g · carbs 99 g · fat 27 g
Quantities per person
- 110 g Linguine
- 20 g Extra virgin olive oil
- 5 g Garlic
- 0.5 g Chilli flakes (peperoncino)
- 10 g Capers
- 30 g Lemon
- 5 g Flat-leaf parsley
- 0.5 g Black peppercorns
- 12.5 g Coarse salt
- 160 g Tinned chickpeas (400 g tin)
Cooking tips
Never add cheese to tuna pasta: this is as much an Italian rule as ours. Choose tuna chunks, ideally ventresca if available, rather than flakes, so they hold their shape in step 4. Salt-packed capers are better than those in vinegar: rinse and soak them for 10 minutes. The tuna is tinned and weighed after draining, so no trip to the fishmonger is needed. Add the lemon juice off the heat to keep it bright. Capers and tuna already salt the sauce; do not add fine salt. The chickpea version uses the same basic preparation, kept separate before any contact with tuna or its oil. The nutrition table counts drained tuna: the oil recovered from the tins (70–80 g) is not included, even in the lighter version.
Italian storecupboard cooking: pasta al tonno in bianco with garlic, peperoncino, capers, lemon and parsley.
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