Everything Pasta
Pasta with red sauce, tuna and tons of vegetables. Great use for leftover veggies or shelf stable canned items that can always be kept on hand. Add whatever your family likes, here's what I use.
Pasta with red sauce, tuna and tons of vegetables. Great use for leftover veggies or shelf stable canned items that can always be kept on hand. Add whatever your family likes, here's what I use.
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1/2 cup onion chopped
- 3 cups rotini or penne (i use barilla plus)
- 4 ounces reduced fat cheddar cheese cubed or grated
- 1 ounce parmesan cheese grated, plus additional for topping
- 2 cans tuna canned in olive oil, drained (i love tonnino in olive oil with oregano from whole foods)
- 1-2 roma tomatoes chopped
- 1 loosely packed cup fresh basil chiffonade (reserved some for topping)
- 1 can (15 oz) artichoke hearts chopped
- 1 jar tomato sauce (i use roasted garlic sauce from trader joe's)
- 1 can black olives sliced (or kalamata)
- 1 can (15 oz) cannellini beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup spinach roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup scallions chopped for topping
- Carbohydrate 146.546533550675 g
- Cholesterol 41.080294933 mg
- Fat 25.6193579233942 g
- Fiber 11.855333357954 g
- Protein 85.6259271875817 g
- Saturated Fat 5.65726724088475 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (736g)
- Sodium 1787.50873342175 mg
- Sugar 134.691200192721 g
- Trans Fat 5.00535055388842 g
- Calories 1163 calories
Step-by-step
- Start chopping your veggies while boiling water in a large pot for the pasta.
- When you are about done chopping, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to package directions.
- When the pasta is cooked, strain out the water and return the pasta to the pot. Be sure to reduce the heat. Add the pasta sauce and grated cheese and cover the pot for a few minutes, allowing the cheese to melt.
- Add your vegetables and tuna, mix gently to combine and allow everything to heat through evenly.
- Serve and top with parmesan cheese, basil, and scallions.
Why is the cheese forming a greasy clump instead of melting into a smooth sauce? This frustrating texture failure happens when dairy hits boiling pasta that is still sitting over high heat. High temperatures separate milk solids and fats instantly, leaving stringy pools rather than a cohesive coating.
Prevent this by dropping the burner to low heat the moment the pasta returns to the pot. Stir the jarred tomato sauce and grated cheese into the warm pasta while the residual heat does the work gently. Cover the pot for exactly three minutes to trap steam, allowing the cheddar and parmesan to soften before folding in heavy ingredients like canned beans and tuna. Drain canned tuna packed in olive oil thoroughly in a fine-mesh sieve for two minutes, otherwise excess oil will thin out the tomato sauce and prevent proper clinging.
Rotini and penne are ideal choices because their ridges and hollow tubes capture bits of chopped artichoke hearts and black olives effectively. Swapping the cannellini beans for Great Northern beans yields identical results at a one-to-one ratio, maintaining the exact starch and protein balance. When incorporating delicate greens like spinach, chop them roughly into half-inch strips so they wilt evenly from residual heat without releasing excess water.
