Hard

Chef John's Spaghetti al Tonno

Total Time
2h 42m
39m prep · 123m cook
Servings
4 people
Rating
Difficulty
Hard
2 views
🌾 Gluten-Free 🥜 Nut-Free ✡️ Kosher

Spaghetti al tonno is one of my all-time favorite go-to pasta dishes. I love a classic meat sauce as much as the next half-Italian, but when I want something quick and easy for a weeknight meal, I reach for the tuna. What if you don't like fish? Then this is perfect. The taste and texture is really closer to a veal sauce than one made with fish.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 anchovy fillet
  • 2 tablespoons capers
  • 3 cloves minced garlic
  • 0.5 cups dry white wine
  • 0.25 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 pinch red pepper flakes , or to taste
  • 3 cups crushed Italian , plum
  • salt and ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 pinch cayenne pepper , or to taste
  • 1 , 7 ounce
  • 0.25 cups chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 1 , 12 ounce
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil , or to taste
  • 0.25 cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese , or to taste
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley , or to taste

Instructions

  1. 1

    Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir anchovy and capers in hot oil until anchovy crumbles, about 2 minutes. Add garlic; cook and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.

  2. 2

    Pour white wine, oregano, and red pepper flakes into the skillet and increase heat to high; cook until mixture reduces and about 3 tablespoons of liquid remain, 2 to 4 minutes.

  3. 3

    Stir tomatoes into the skillet and bring to a simmer. Season tomato mixture with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until slightly reduced, about 10 minutes.

  4. 4

    Stir tuna and 1/4 cup parsley into tomato sauce, breaking up tuna with a wooden spoon while stirring. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 10 minutes.

  5. 5

    Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until almost cooked through and still slightly firm to the bite, 9 to 11 minutes. Drain and transfer spaghetti back to the pot.

  6. 6

    Pour tomato sauce over spaghetti into the pot; stir to combine, cover the pot with a lid, and let sit until spaghetti is cooked through, about 3 minutes. Ladle spaghetti into bowls, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil, and sprinkle Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and parsley over the top.

Nutrition Facts

Per serving

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