Our Big Boy can turn out a good dinner – if he has access to mince.
We thought this easy dish, which we used to make regularly in the late eighties, might be a nice alternative for him. It comes from one of our oldest cookbooks, which is now available on Kindle, and the sauce can be prepared in the time it takes the pasta to boil…
We always have the ingredients on hand – a tin of tuna in oil, fresh garlic, grated Parmesan cheese, and lemon and parsley from the garden…
- 500g dried pasta
- 1 – 2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
- handful chopped parsley (we use continental parsley from the garden)
- 200g tin of tuna in olive oil
- extra olive oil if needed
- juice of 1 lemon
- ½ cup (approximately) of grated Parmesan cheese
- 30g (a large knob) butter, cut into pieces
- salt and black pepper
1. Put the pasta on to cook to al dente in a large pot of salted boiling water.
2. Drain the oil from the tuna and add it to a large frying pan. Add a little more olive oil if needed. Heat gently, then add the garlic and most of the parsley, reserving just a little to garnish. Stirring constantly over a low heat, add the drained and flaked tuna, and cook gently to ensure that none of the ingredients change colour.
3. Once the pasta is ready, drain it well, reserving a little of the cooking liquid. Add the pasta to the sauce, stirring well to combine. Add the lemon juice and a little of the cooking liquid if necessary, then the cheese, and finally stir through the butter. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with the extra chopped parsley and serve immediately.
As so often happens in the blogosphere, my friend Francesca serendipitously posted a similar recipe at Almost Italian a couple of days ago. I’ll be sure to point that one out to Big Boy as well!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Looks pretty delectable Celia, I think that sometimes the most simple ingredients, prepared well, make for the most memorable meals (especially if one of the kids is cooking ;) )
Ah, good old Diane Seed… I used to borrow her books from the library such a long time ago! I might have that one… nice recipe. Remind me to tell you a story about the time Diane Seed came to give a class at my cooking school!
Like Francesca’s, I’ll cook this right away. Why not, we have everything here! Thanks Celia
I have this book, I got it in a garage sale… and I love it too!, so many easy fantastic recipes! I didn’t know it was so popular that you could get it on kindle? I also have the other two in the series “The 100 Italian dishes” and “More Great Italian Pasta” My favourite is the Taglionlini con la Zucca on page 70! delicious :) that reminds me I might just have to do a blog on that one :) Thanks for sharing! Liz x
Yum: that was very nice! Had a tin of tuna and a wrap on the kitchen table for a fast meal just as your post came in – well, the tuna got ‘hotted’ with things from my garden and all bar the butter it was rolled up and tasted very good with a glass of soy milk! Ready to work now :) !! Pasta can wait till next time!!
Ooh yes, does he do private cheffing?? That looks great.
Perfect Celia. We all need a few instant meals up our sleeves.
Excellent, Celia. I’ll pass this recipe on to my Big Boy (14) :-)
If only Mr ATMT wasn’t seafood allergic! Reckon a bit of finely chopped chicken might do the trick was a substitute.
I sometimes forget dinner doesn’t need a list of ingredients as long as my arm. This is my sort of fast food.
Simplicity is always the best for a taste explosion meal. Lovely meal Celia.
Have a wonderful week ahead.
:-) Mandy xo
What a perfect recipe – esp. for me, since I cook ‘for one’ now… unless I have company. I can just imagine how yummy this tastes with the punch the sauce gets from the lemon & the Parmesan cheese. And, I too have noticed how often ‘we bloggers’ seem to end up posting similar recipes all within the same time. The must be some kind of Food Blogger Consciousness out there or something !!
Could you please add a Pinterest button because I love your recipes sooo much I like to post them on Pinterest and the button would make it that much easier – thanks !!
Sometimes the oldies are the best dishes! I live for lemon, garlic and parsley. Well done to big boy! :) xx
Can’t wait to try it!
Yum! I love a meal that takes only the time that pasta takes to boil!
Perfect – lovve dishes like this that can be made from what we typically have to hand but are fresh and delicious….oooh I’m feeling all Italian now (which will make my Italian Papa happy) :)
What a wonderful meal, love the simplicity of it!
Mr Tony refuses to eat canned fish so I’ll have to adapt this one. Funny it reminds me of a book I am currently reading “The Food of Love Cookery School” by Kiwi author Nicky Pellegrino.
Well done Big Boy! Clearly the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree :)
This is the pasta dish for me! Simply good and easy to make :) Thanks, Celia!
Julie & Alesah
Gourmet Getaways xx
What nice, fresh and easy flavours Celia. It’s great that the boys can fend for themselves, and even better if it tastes as good as this dish looks- yummo! Xox
Hiya Celia, Maus is onto it as I type. Like I said before, we all need instant meals.
Nicely done and when someone else volunteers to cook a meal I think it should be praised and encouraged so they’ll do it more often. Sometimes I think my husband does that to me when I haven’t be putting much effort into meals and I have to ask “do you really like it or are you just saying that to get me back in the kitchen?” This dish looks so good though and you just have to love a meal that’s quick, easy, and can be done with ingredients on hand.
I’ve seen that cookbook before. I do love the look of this past. This looks like wonderful family fare and I love how it can be made with so few ingredients that most people would have in their fridge and pantry xx
We do a similar 10 minute pasta dish if we’re in need of something quick after work – some spring onion, coarsley chopped tomato, tuna, chilli and basil with spaghettini
I make this quite often. I usually serve with a little ‘crumb’ of fried homemade breadcrumbs, lemon zest and a little chilli over the top. Delicious.