Linguine with Tuna, Lemon and Rocket (Linguine al Tonno, Limone e Rughetta)
Inroduction
About this Recipe
By: Sheridan Rogers
English cookery writer Diane Seed has lived in Rome for over 30 years and runs the Italian Gourmet cookery school there from her home adjacent to the magnificent Doria Pamphilj Palace. This tasty pasta dish is one she throws together for impromptu guests using dried pasta and tinned tuna.
Ingredients
- extra virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons
- garlic 2 cloves, finely chopped
- dried red chilli 1, split in half lengthways (optional)
- tuna in olive oil 1 x 200g tin, drained and flaked
- linguine 400g
- 2 lemons juiced
- fresh rocket leaves 30g -45g (i – 1 1/2 cups), coarsely chopped
- sea salt and freshly cracked pepper
In a large frying pan, heat the oil and gently cook the garlic and chilli. When the garlic has softened, add the tuna and stir together. Be careful not to let the garlic burn. Remove and keep warm. Meanwhile cook the pasta in plenty of rapidly boiling salted water. Drain the pasta, reserving 2 tablespoons of the pasta cooking water. Return pan with tuna mixture to the stovetop. Add the lemon juice and reserved pasta cooking water and heat gently. Turn off the heat. Add drained pasta and mix well to combine. Stir through the rocket leaves, season with salt and freshly cracked pepper. Serve immediately. Tip: use flat leaf parsley if rocket is unavailable. A few sliced small black olives (nicoise or ligurian) are a nice addition. I also often add a tin of drained, washed chickpeas for a more substantial meal.