These two recipes contain both pasta and canned tuna, but the results are as different as summer and winter. The tuna pomodoro is tomato sauce served on top of whole-wheat spaghetti, while the second recipe is a baked mac and cheese with broccoli and tuna.
Tuna Pomodoro
This dish is light, delicious, and filling, and I think it is the best pantry pasta ever. In a recipe with such few ingredients, it will be apparent if you try substitutions like tuna in water instead of tuna in oil. I know from personal experience that it will not taste the same.
8 oz. whole-wheat angel hair pasta
salt
2 tablespoons of olive oil (optional)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
one 14.5 can of Hunt's Diced Tomatoes in Sauce, undrained
one 5 oz. can of tuna in oil
dried basil, to taste
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Salt the water and add the spaghetti. Cook according to package directions and drain well.
In the meantime, heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. (If you'd like, you can save the oil from the tuna when you drain it from the can, and use 2 tablespoons of that oil.)
Add the minced garlic and crushed red pepper, and saute for a quick minute.
Add the canned tomatoes with the juices to the pot, turn the heat down to medium, and let simmer for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the drained tuna and cook until warmed through, about 2 minutes. Add several generous dashes of dried basil. Stir to incorporate the ingredients. Serve with whole wheat spaghetti.
Tuna Mac and Cheese
For weeks, I had a hankering for tuna. Then the weather turned cold and I wanted broccoli soup. Since I make mac and cheese regularly, testing and developing recipes for my website, I thought I'd combine all these things together. The cheese sauce for this macaroni is made from canned soup.
1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni, uncooked
one can tuna, drained (I used 5 ounces, but you can use more if you want)
half of a 12 oz bag of frozen broccoli
one 10.5 oz can cheddar cheese or broccoli cheese soup
2 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, grated or shredded
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook macaroni according to package directions. Place the broccoli in a colander and pour the hot water and pasta over the vegetables as you drain off the water.
Add the drained pasta and broccoli back to the pot. Mix the canned soup, mustard, tuna, cheese, salt, pepper, and milk. Stir to combine. Pour the mixture into a greased casserole dish. Bake for 15 minutes, top with the rest of the cheese, and bake for another 5 minutes.