Tuna, Olive & Broccoli Spaghetti

This is simple and quick to make, and just needs a pan of boiling water and a medium sized frying pan. Cooking the broccoli in with the pasta is a great trick for streamlining the whole process. Many Italian pasta dishes use toasted breadcrumbs, but that’s too much faff on a van vacation. I use a handful of dry roasted almonds (usually plucked from a bag of trail mix) to create the same sort of texture. I crush the almonds with the bottom of the frying pan before cooking. Feel free to use whatever heavy object you can find! 

Yield

2

Ingredients list

Spaghetti 4oz (112g)

2 garlic cloves, peeled & chopped

½ teaspoon dried chili flakes

Cherry tomatoes 5oz (142g) about 16, sliced in half

Black olives about 16, pitted and roughly chopped

2 cans tuna in water, no salt added 5oz (142g)

Broccoli 5oz (142g) cut into small florets

¼ cup almonds 1oz (32g), crushed or chopped

Flat leaf parsley, handful, chopped

1 lemon

Olive oil

Salt 

Method 

Snap the spaghetti in half as you drop it into the salted boiling water. Cook according to the packet instructions, usually about 8-10 minutes. 

Cut the broccoli into small florets and have ready to drop in with the pasta with about 3-4 minutes to go until pasta is done (the smaller the floret, the quicker the cooking time). 

Chop the garlic and gently fry in a splash of olive oil for 1-2 minutes, add the chili flakes and cherry tomatoes. Cook for another couple of minutes until the tomatoes are just softening. Add the olives and drained tuna, breaking up any very large pieces. Keep the pan on a low heat until the pasta and broccoli is done. 

Drain the pasta and broccoli, reserving some of the cooking water. Tip the pasta and broccoli into the tuna and gently mix. You may need to add a couple of splashes of the reserved pasta water to help everything combine. You want the pasta to have a nice glossy shine. 

Sprinkle over the crushed almonds and a bit of chopped flat leaf parsley. Give it a good spritz of lemon juice. 

Buon appetito!