Pasta With Tuna, Capers and Scallions Recipe (2024)

This is very similar to a pasta that my friend, Cristina used to cook for us in Sardinia. She added a lemon rind, either julienned or zested, and had a different approach to cooking:In a bowl mix together the lemon rind,tuna,capers, olives and anchovies (or a dollop of anchovy paste) and set aside. Cook the pasta according to package directions and meantime, in a large frying pan cook the garlic and pepperoncino (red-pepper flakes) in olive oil till the garlic turns golden - don’t let it burn!

Nice, but double the garlic, double the scallions, and use the entire box of pasta - 16 ounces, which is how pasta is sold. Please, Melissa, write pasta recipes without weirdly oddball amounts of ingredients. Write for the way people shop and eat.

Great recipe, easily adapted, and most importantly, it follows Marcella Hazan's timeless advise to NOT COOK the canned tuna when used in such recipes. Makes a world of difference. Thanks!

Scoop the pasta into a large ladle and twirl it around with a fork. The ladle makes it easy to create a nice large serving formed into a beautiful circle. Slide out of the ladle onto the plate. Watched way to much Food Network these last few days...but hey, I learned something new!

I had a tube of anchovy paste I usually use for Caesar salad to use up and substituted it (1/3 tube) for the actual fish and it worked out fine! Delicious!

I’ve been making a very similar version of this I got from a recipe on a box of Barilla pasta years ago. About a 1/4 cup of sliced oil cured black olives adds a most welcome umami note. I sauté with the garlic and capers.

The recipe amounts appear to be based on using one can of tuna and scaling appropriately, instead of having a partial additional can of tuna left over. It seems easier to store pasta for later use than to deal with a partial can of tuna. And anchovy paste is easier than tinned, for those of us who don't use anchovies frequently. That said, if you want to use a pound of pasta, double the other ingredients and I bet it would be great. I typically use less pasta with same amount of sauce. Yum

Pasta with anchovies + garlic + capers + red pepper is a tried and true favourite our house, but the small adjustments in this recipe really elevate the dish.Following another commenter, I added breadcrumbs that I tossed with some olive oil and browned in a pan on medium heat. I added a pinch of freshly dried dill and lemon zest to the breadcrumbs, which reinforced the herby/lemony flavours nicely.

She means 6 individual pieces (though I’m planning to make this tonight and will use more). Olive-oil packed tuna is best. I like to use the Genova brand, which you can find in many grocery stores. I think oil packed tuna has better flavor and texture.

I made this time and again when I lived overseas and my budget was tight. And I’ve made it many times since. It’s addictively good. Wouldn’t change a thing. Yum!

One of our favorite pasta recipes! I follow the advice of “ncm” and mix everything together in a bowl, including lemon zest. Cook garlic and scallions, add that to the bowl with a little more olive oil and 1/2 cup pasta water.

I've been making a version of this for years, minus the anchovies. Sorry, just can't do those. This was my comforting go-to lunch when I first started to WFM in 2000! Just now I thought maybe some white miso could add some interesting umami. I usually throw in a handful of frozen haricots verts (Trader Joe's) and peas. After eating carrot-oatmeal cookies for breakfast, I think this will be lunch today!

I’m so obsessed with this dish I’ve made it three times in two weeks. YUM! The first time I made it exactly as written (as a courtesy the creator will never know.) As a recipe writer, my nose gets out of joint when someone cooking mine just decides to leave out an ingredient. My tweaks were to triple the garlic (at least triple), use a liquid, Portuguese crushed hot pepper, add butter and garnish with sautéed bread crumbs in addition to the scallion greens. Fresh and Panko are equally delicious.

I made this tonight with a couple of substitutions. A couple of large shallots instead of scallions and several chopped kalamata olives instead of capers. It was delicious!

We’re on lockdown and I’m a tad fed up with cooking (cooked up a STORM initially but...you know) so I asked my husband to make dinner and gave him this recipe.He actually likes to cook and he’s quite good so don’t assume he has never gripped the handle of a sauté pan.However, this was fantastic! Someone may be offended, but it reminds me of a very grown up tuna noodle casserole! Fabulous and achieved, I understand, with minimal fuss. Loved it and we’ll absolutely make it again!!Thank you NYT!

I’ve wanted to add more seafood to my cooking and this recipe with canned tuna was a good start. I used yellowfin tuna in olive oil and didn’t drain it. I found the recipe good but it needed a little something, then I remembered the suggested red pepper flakes and adding that little bit of spice elevated the dish.

About the easiest with definite flavors. Sure to repeat.

A fabulous recipe! We make this using the whole pack of pasta, an entire can of anchovies, tuna in olive oil plus the oil for extra flavor, and mint as our fresh herb. The result is an incredibly zingy blend of flavors. Five stars, would give more if possible ;-)

Good. Needs a bit of oil after.

Excellent! I cook for myself so I cut recipe in half. Only change I made was to use Vermouth in place of the pasta water. Yum.Girl Scout cookies for dessert.

Mixed tuna, lemon zest, capers, with some added some olives before hand. Cooked the garlic, scallions, anchovies and red pepper flakes in the oil. Then added to tuna. Threw in the noodles, pasta water and a dash more oil. Grated some parm on top just to gild the lily. Honestly, no matter how you mix the ingredients so can’t go wrong. So easy! So delicious!

Melissa Clark is a great cook, but I find her pasta recipes far too busy. Spaghetti with tuna is best when it's basically aglio e olio (meaning olive oil, garlic, pepper flakes, parsley) plus tuna. Not much else is needed. Celery leaves? Dill? Lemon wedges? Scallions???? Not necessary.

I love this recipe, my only note is I want double the amount of tuna to the ratio of pasta used.

Instead of tuna, used a can of Trader Joe’s Lightly Smoked Salmon. Yum

I used leek instead of scallion (as they are not in season right now). Slightly burned the leek (Oh hi! Gas stove heats faster than induction!) ..Forgot to buy lemon, but added some tangy dry white wine to make up for it. Didn‘t have fresh herbs either, so added a dried Dalmatian herb mix (origano, basil, marjoram, savory, thyme, sage). It came out super delicious!! Definitely making this again, and will try with the ingredients suggested in the recipe as well.

Wonderful pantry meal. Pick up scallions and you have everything you need. Lots of flavor!

Maybe this would be better only sautéing garlic and nothing else.

My husband and I loved this as is written. For pasta, used linguine; for fresh herbs, used mostly parsley with a little dill.

I’ve made this recipe probably 10 times and this time around I added mushrooms before cooking down the onion whites and it tasted amazing. I also added a teaspoon of miso paste at the end that gave it an extra umami kick. Love this rustic dish!

Really love this recipe for its versatility + pantry staple ingredients. I look forward to trying it as written. However, I made it recently to use up odds 'n ends ingredients at a vacation house. We didn't have capers or anchovies, so subbed in a spoonful of chili crisp for umami. Also added lemon zest and juice at the end. Topped each plate with toasted/chopped almonds, parmesan, and more chili crisp. Parsley, dill, and scallions were the herbs we used. It turned out SO GOOD.