Pasta with Zucchini, Tuna, and Lemon, a quick and delicious summer main dish. This cold pasta with zucchini and tuna can be enjoyed both cold and warm. Towards the summer season, however, I recommend enjoying it cold. Prepare it in advance, and it’s perfect for office or beach lunches.
Light, fast, and very tasty, this main dish pleased everyone, even Giorgia, who doesn’t really like zucchini. She can’t stand them in any way, sautéed in a pan, in a risotto, or even less in a pasta or rice salad.
Today, however, she managed to surprise me by appreciating this fragrant main dish, thanks to the lemon zest that made everything fresher and tastier. You can also cook the pasta in a pressure cooker as I did, further halving the cooking times, or in the traditional way in a pot. What do you say, shall we prepare it together? Then let’s go to the kitchen because the pasta with zucchini, tuna, and lemon will be ready in a click!
If you are interested in other cold main dishes, also read:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 3People
- Cooking methods: Stovetop, Pressure cooker
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Summer
- Energy 269.00 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 26.98 (g) of which sugars 0.47 (g)
- Proteins 14.33 (g)
- Fat 12.28 (g) of which saturated 1.84 (g)of which unsaturated 0.66 (g)
- Fibers 2.26 (g)
- Sodium 2,102.15 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 275 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 8.5 oz pasta
- 3 cups water (for cooking pasta in pressure cooker)
- 1 tbsp coarse salt
- 7.5 oz zucchini (weight of cleaned vegetable)
- 4 oz canned tuna
- 1 clove garlic
- 2.5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- lemon zest (to taste)
- salt (to taste)
Tools
- Pressure cooker
- Colander
- Basin
- Cutting board
- Knife
- Pan non-stick
Steps
First, clean the zucchini. Wash them, remove the ends, and cut them into rounds. Then clean a garlic clove and pierce it with a toothpick. This way it will be easier to remove. Sauté it in a pan with the oil, then add the zucchini.
Season with salt and cook for 5 minutes on high heat, stirring often to prevent the vegetable from sticking to the pan. At the end of cooking, the zucchini should be golden. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a pressure cooker. Place it in the pot with water and salt, close it and bring it to full power. From the start of the whistle, cook on the lowest heat on the first ring at low flame for 4 minutes.
Gradually release the steam, open the pot, and drain the pasta. Then run it under cold water to cool it. Transfer it to a bowl and add the zucchini previously cooked in the pan, the tuna, and the grated zest of an untreated and washed lemon.
Add a little oil if necessary, stir and serve at the table.
Storage and tips for pasta with zucchini, tuna, and lemon
The cold pasta with zucchini and tuna can be prepared in advance and stored in the refrigerator for 2 or 3 days in a container with a lid.
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FAQ Questions and Answers for pasta with zucchini, tuna, and lemon
Can you cook pasta in an electric pressure cooker?
Yes, certainly, you can also cook pasta with an electric pressure cooker using the pressure cook low function. The cooking times are the same, but always for half the time indicated on the pasta package.
