A simple dish of clam pasta with buttery tomato sauce, tuna and ricotta, all baked with a cheesy parmesan crust.
BE PICTURED IN; CHARACTERIZED IN:
Are you a fan of canned tuna?
Tuna also goes well with pasta, actually quite well (see tuna pasta with capers in white wine sauce). But I had no idea it would also work with pasta, tomato sauce, and cheese until this dish, recommended to us by a reader (thanks Audrey), is a favorite of hers from the 1967 classic Mama Leone’s Italian Cookbook.
We only changed the recipe slightly from the one Audrey gave us, we cut the butter in half, from 1/2 cup to 1/4 cup. And we threw in some chopped fresh basil because we have a lot growing in the garden.
Oh my god this is so good! Wow. And easy too.
My only caveat is that I think you have to be a tuna lover (or at least a liker) to enjoy this recipe.
The recipe only calls for a 6-ounce can for a recipe that serves 4, so it’s not like the tuna overwhelms the dish.
It doesn’t. But you can definitely taste the tuna. Of course, if you want to skip the tuna, you can make something similar with some cooked Italian sausage in place of the tuna.
Tuna Tomato Pasta Casserole
Tuna in olive oil is highly recommended for this recipe. If you just have water-packed tuna, you can try draining it and then adding olive oil to the can and letting it soak in the olive oil in the fridge for several hours, but you’ll get the best results starting with tuna wrapped in oil.
ingredients
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4 tablespoon unsalted butter
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1 (28 ounce) can tomatoeswhole or crushed
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Salt
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1 lb clam pasta
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1/2 Cup Ricotta cheese
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1 (6 ounce) can Tuna packed in olive oil
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1/4 Cup fresh basilchopped or torn
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Generous 1/2 Cup grated parmesan cheese
method
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Simmer tomatoes with butter for 30 minutes:
Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat and add the can of tomatoes and juice. If you’re using whole canned tomatoes (or fresh), mash them up with your (clean) fingers as you add them to the pot. Simmer lightly covered for 30 minutes.
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Cook pasta:
While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add the pasta shells to the boiling water and cook vigorously, uncovered, until al dente, cooked through but still slightly al dente, which is usually the time listed on the pasta package minus about 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.
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Combine tuna, tomato sauce, ricotta, pasta, basil:
Drain the excess oil from the tuna can and stir the tuna into the tomato sauce. Add the ricotta cheese and add salt to taste. Turn off the heater. Mix the sauce with the pasta in a large bowl. Mix in the basil.
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Place in a casserole dish, sprinkle with Parmesan, grill:
Pour the pasta into a 2-3 quart casserole dish and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese. Place under a hot grill for 4-6 minutes, until cheese is melted and lightly browned. Serve hot.
Links:
Lemon, Olives and Capers Tuna Pasta Salad – by Kalyn’s Kitchen
Creamy Tuna Tomato Pasta – by Food Wishes
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 247 | calories |
| 11g | Fat |
| 23g | carbohydrates |
| 14g | protein |
