Sicilian-style tuna pasta with capers, lemon and parsley

Serves - 4

You’ll need

• 300g pasta, such as spaghetti, linguine or rigatoni
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, finely sliced or chopped
• 1 small red chilli, finely sliced, optional
• 2 x 145g tins tuna in olive oil
• 2 tbsp capers, drained
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Small handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 40g breadcrumbs
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Get the pasta on

Bring a large pan of well-salted water to the boil and cook the pasta until al dente. Before draining, save a mug of the pasta water. It is nearly always more useful than people give it credit for.

2. Crisp the breadcrumbs

While the pasta cooks, heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the breadcrumbs and cook for 2–3 minutes, stirring often, until golden and crisp. Tip them into a bowl and set aside. A little crunch at the end makes the whole thing feel far more put together.

3. Build the base

Add the remaining olive oil to the same pan. Add the garlic and chilli, if using, and cook gently for 30 seconds to 1 minute until fragrant. You want it smelling lively, not catching and turning bitter.

4. Add the tuna and capers

Add the tuna, breaking it up gently with a spoon into generous flakes rather than tiny crumbs. Stir in the capers, lemon zest and half the lemon juice, and let everything warm through for a minute or two. It should already smell like dinner is going to be perfectly respectable.

5. Bring it all together

Add the drained pasta to the pan with a splash of the pasta water and most of the parsley. Toss everything together over a low heat until the sauce lightly coats the pasta rather than sitting in clumps. Add a little more pasta water if needed.

6. Finish properly

Taste and add the rest of the lemon juice if it needs more brightness. Season with black pepper and a little salt if needed, though the tuna and capers may already be doing a fair bit of that work for you.

7. Serve

Divide between warm bowls and finish with the crispy breadcrumbs and the remaining parsley. Serve straight away while everything still feels bright, punchy and exactly as it should.

A couple of helpful notes

- Tuna in olive oil is far better here than tuna in spring water. This is not a dish that benefits from austerity.
- If you want to nudge it a little further in a Sicilian direction, a few chopped olives work very nicely.
- Do not be too eager with the salt at the start – capers and tuna have a way of sneaking up on you.