The Killer Pasta I Make When I Have No Time and No Plan

I have authored more than my fair share of pantry pasta recipes on this site, but the one I turn to the most is from my old colleague and friend Sasha Marx. On a night when I am caught in an “oh crap I need to feed the kids and it’s almost bedtime” moment (which is most nights, if I’m being honest), his recipe for pasta al tonno is the one I almost always make. The result is guaranteed to be more special than the time and effort I put into it would suggest.

With just the basics in the cupboard—a can of tomatoes, some olive oil–packed tuna, garlic, dried spaghetti, red pepper flakes—it’s a breathtaking dish that can be whipped up in minutes. Boil the pasta, fry the garlic until lightly golden, simmer the sauce, flake in the tuna, toss it all together, and done. The parsley is a nice addition, a touch of fresh green flavor added right before serving, but it’s optional. The pasta is better with it, but it’s still great without it.

Tips for Making the Best Pasta With Tuna

I only have a couple of tips. The first is an often-repeated one: The quality of the ingredients matters. With so few components, pasta al tonno only truly shines when the canned tomatoes are great ones; when the tuna is not your run-of-the-mill dry puck that’s best mixed with mayo for tuna salad (canned ventresca, the belly, is a splurge, but it’s great here); and when the spaghetti has that rough texture from bronze-die extrusion and not the slick, plasticky feel of the cheap supermarket stuff.

The second is to take your time. Yes, this is a quick recipe. But let the garlic turn golden slowly, developing its flavor and infusing into the oil without taking on an acrid, over-fried flavor. Be sure to pull the pasta a little early from the water and finish it in the sauce so it’s coated in a slick, tomatoey glaze. All told, it’s an extra two or three minutes, insignificant in the scheme of things, but critical in the execution of the dish.

The result is a delicious, bright, and fruity tomato sauce, studded with substantial morsels of tuna and a light marine flavor that can even make a Tuesday night taste like you’re on the Italian Riviera.