Name: Casarecce con Tonno e Pomodoro
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 0 peperoncino; 320 g casarecce; 200 g tuna; 300 g cherry tomatoes; 1 clove garlic; 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil; 0 parsley; 0 salt; 10 g capers; 30 g black olives

Casarecce con Tonno e Pomodoro

A quick Sicilian pasta of casarecce tossed with good canned tuna in olive oil, sweet tomato, and garlic, finished with parsley.

🇮🇹 Italy ·Europe · $

10 min Prep

15 min Cook

25 min Total

4 portions

This is the kind of dish that comes together from the pantry on a busy weeknight in Southern Italy. Twists of casarecce hold a fast sauce built on garlic gently cooked in extra-virgin olive oil, ripe tomato, and a tin of quality tuna packed in oil. Cherry tomatoes or passata both work, simmered just long enough to soften and release their juice. Capers, olives, or a little peperoncino can join in for a saltier, spicier Sicilian note, and chopped parsley brightens everything at the end. As with most Italian fish pastas, cheese is left off so the tuna and tomato stay clean and fresh. It is honest, fast, and inexpensive, the sort of recipe families make again and again.

Ingredients

320 g casarecce

200 g tuna canned in olive oil, drained

300 g cherry tomatoes halved; or use 400 g tomato passata

1 clove garlic

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

0 parsley fresh, chopped, to taste

0 salt to taste

10 g capers salt-packed, rinsed (optional)

30 g black olives pitted (optional)

0 peperoncino fresh or dried, to taste (optional)

Ingredients

4 portions

320 gcasarecce

200 gtuna canned in olive oil, drained

300 gcherry tomatoes halved; or use 400 g tomato passata

1 clovegarlic

3 tbspextra-virgin olive oil

parsley fresh, chopped, to taste

salt to taste

10 gcapers salt-packed, rinsed (optional)

30 gblack olives pitted (optional)

peperoncino fresh or dried, to taste (optional)

Instructions

Sauce

1

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta.
~8 min
2

Warm the extra-virgin olive oil in a wide pan over medium heat. Add the garlic, lightly crushed or sliced, and let it cook gently until fragrant without browning, about 1 minute. Add a pinch of peperoncino now if using.
~2 min
3

Add the halved cherry tomatoes (or the passata) and a pinch of salt. Cover partially and cook until the tomatoes soften and release their juices into a light sauce, about 10 minutes. Stir in the rinsed capers and pitted olives in the last few minutes if using.
~10 min

Finish

1

Drain the tuna and break it into chunks. Add it to the sauce and warm through for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring gently so the pieces stay tender. Remove the garlic if you cooked it whole.
~3 min
2

Cook the casarecce in the boiling water until al dente, then transfer it straight into the pan with the sauce, carrying a little pasta water with it.
~9 min
3

Toss the pasta with the sauce over the heat for about a minute, loosening with a splash of pasta water if needed. Stir through the chopped parsley, adjust the salt, and serve right away.
~2 min

Credits & Inspiration

Allacciate il Grembiule (GialloZafferano)
Classic Italian method for a simple tuna and tomato pasta using passata and canned tuna in oil.
Cucina per Te
Casarecce-specific version with cherry tomatoes, olives, capers, and a finish of basil or pine nuts.
CuciniAMO e mangiAMO (GialloZafferano)
Quick cherry-tomato sauce with garlic, peperoncino, parsley, and tuna finished off the heat.
Esplosione di Gusto (GialloZafferano)
Southern variation adding capers and olives to the tuna and cherry tomato base.
La Cucina Italiana
Sicilian Trapani context for casarecce with tomato, capers, and olives from an authoritative Italian source.