Here in Italy it’s very common to use canned Tuna, it usually is in Olive Oil it renders the tuna more tasty and tender. You can always find either a salad or pasta dish with tuna. It’s quite delicious and healthy. This is a recipe that I developed a while back, I think I was about 18 I lived alone and I used to make it especially in the summer because it was light and easy to make. My friends would come over and we used to sit around and eat this and then get on with our day. They used to say that they loved this dish just as much as I did.
Everyone here in Italy has a version of this dish and they make it however they like, some add tomato sauce, some forfeit the olives, some add capers, and some just get the can and throw it on top of the cooked pasta without anything else; so as you can see it’s really optional and you can do however you like. I like it this version but in general I think that this dish is a fantastic way to eat something nutritional and light. Omega-3’s are very important in our diet and this is a simple way of getting them. I hope that you enjoy this dish and remember let’s be creative. I love spicy foods, so as you’ve probably noticed just about now there is always something spicy in my dishes, feel free to leave that out, it will taste just as good…that is one thing that I can’t seem to give up: my capsaicin. I love it!
Enjoy
Serves 2 – 3
Ingredients:
250 gr. Mezzemaniche*
2 cans Light Tuna (in Olive oil if possible), drained
6 Cherry tomatoes
5-6 Black olives (sliced)
½ Garlic clove
Chilies (optional)
Handful Parsley (chopped)
Olive oil
Salt to taste
Place a medium-sized pot of salted water to boil.
In a separate small pot put some water to boil, toss in your cherry tomatoes and allow to boil for about 2-3 minutes, just enough to get the sherry tomato skin off, drain and start to peel. Place on a cutting board and slice in half, over your kitchen sink squirt out the seeds and place the tomatoes aside.
In a pan over medium heat pour in some olive oil, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan, put your garlic (do not slice, you just want the aroma); allow 2 minutes to go by and join the tomatoes, allow to simmer for about 5 minutes and then add the rest of your ingredients, tuna, olives, chilies, parsley and salt; allow to cook at low heat for about another 5 minutes and then turn off heat and allow to rest.
In the meantime your pot of water should be boiling, throw in your pasta and cook for the time mentioned on the box generally 9 -11 minutes, drain and join with your tuna sauce, mix well and serve.
* I like Mezzemaniche, they are larger than Ditalini but you can use any pasta you like.
Balanced Modern Mom 
This looks so easy to make, very light and healthy!
It is easy and you’ll find that you don’t need alot of time to make it either. Thanks for stopping by mythineats. Have a wonderful day!
This recipe looks yummy and how can you fail with tuna, right? I’ve never used mezzemaniche before though. One of the first pasta recipes that I made was with spanish sardines in olive oil. I just add tomato and garlic. 🙂
Mezzemaniche are great, but I rarely found them in the USA, it’s easily replaceable though. And, I know tuna…I love it. I have some recipes here also of salads with Tuna in it. Happy cooking.
yum! sounds so delicious and simple. i love the sound of mezzemaniche as well, never heard of it, i’ll look out for it in London, but fear it may require a specialist italian deli at best!
Thank you. I hope that you are able to find Mezzemaniche in London, if not use whatever pasta you like, I have made them with Farfalle, Rigatoni, and even Spaghetti. Happy cooking
yep, I sure know this recipe! a summer must when the kitchen is low in food but everyone’s hungry. Though chilli is hardly optional in my family, we love it too much to leave it out!
P.S.: thanks for coming by my pantry!
Yes, that’s correct. Chilies are not really an option in my family either we love spicy as well. Ciao e grazie per esserti fermata qui!!
Hi. I’ve tagged you for the Versatile Blogger Award. Cheers.
Trish
http://infinebalance.com/2012/02/18/passing-the-love-versatile-blogger-award/
Thank you so much….I’m so thankful for your appreciation of my blog. I’m going to have to think about who to pass it onto this week. I enjoy your blog as well and thank you again for picking me.
Sincerely, mythineats
i will be in italy in a few weeks- what should i call this when i order it at a restaurant? 😉
You can call it Mezzemaniche al Tonno, now like I mentioned in the post everyone does it different, you could find it in red sauce or with capers or another ingredient they have. However Tonno is tuna do if you see a pasta dish al Tonno that should be it, I hope you ate able to taste it it’s really delicious. Where are you going I could give you a few other suggestions as well.
I will be in Verona and also am thinking of taking a weekend trip to Cinque Terre because it looks like the most beautiful place in the world. From there, maybe circle down to Pisa, and then back up to Verona for work.
Well, Verona’s typical dishes are Polenta Gialla, Risotto al Amarone, and Gnocchi. Cinque Terre when we went we ended up eating fish…almost every restaurant is a fish restaurant and it was delicious, one dish we love is “Insalata ai Frutti di Mare” or “Insalata di Polipo” for starter this is always a winner…almost anywhere in Italy if made fresh (make sure the restaurant is not a Turist trap) also “Fritto Misto” is great. A risotto “ai frutti di mare”. Depending on what you like to eat, if you like to eat meat anywhere that has “carne ai ferri o alla griglia” is great.
I hope that you enjoy your trip.
Sounds delicious! I saw your blog on the TAM FB page. What type of chiles did you use and did you do anything to prepare them before adding them to the dish? Would dried chilies work?
Yes, Dried chilies would work. I used fresh chilies I found at the produce section in the grocery store. But you can you any chilies would work and you don’t have to do anything just throw them in the olive oil when cooking. Thanks for stopping by Mythineats.
Beautiful recipe! I love tuna and always keep some canned tuna in olive oil in my cupboard. It’s so versatile! I also throw it on top of pasta with a simple tomato-basil sauce. Makes for a very filling meal. I am going to try this at home!
I love Tuna and like you said, it is very versatile. I also do love it with a red sauce.
Thanks for stopping by Mythineats.
I’ve been making this dish for years, usually when I want a quick but balanced meal. It’s good to know that I’m not the only one! Also, just to say that you have a lovely blog 🙂
You’re not the only one. It’s a delicious and healthy dish that we enjoy lots.
Thanks for stopping by mythineats