Pasta with fresh tuna, eggplant and cherry tomatoes, a recipe a little richer than the classic pasta with canned tuna, and an original, colorful and flavorful seafood first course. With summer approaching, cherry tomatoes and eggplants start to take center stage and pasta with fresh tuna and cherry tomatoes is a perfect dish for the warm season. So if pasta with canned tuna and cherry tomatoes is the typical dish for a quick lunch or dinner, pasta with fresh tuna becomes a richer and more original recipe, to bring an important first course to the table without being too expensive. Let’s go to the kitchen — you’ll see that pasta with fresh tuna will be a delicious alternative to the classic pasta with canned tuna and a healthy, genuine recipe that we can make with both bluefin tuna and yellowfin tuna.
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Also check out these seafood first course recipes:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer and Autumn
Ingredients to make Pasta with Fresh Tuna, Eggplant and Cherry Tomatoes
I prepared the recipe with fresh tuna, but you can also make it with canned tuna — you’ll need 150 g (about 5.3 oz) in that case.
- 1 eggplant (medium)
- 1 1/3 cup cherry tomatoes
- 7 oz fresh tuna
- 1 onion (medium)
- to taste salt
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp raisins
- 10 pcs Taggiasca olives
- to taste parsley
- 1 tbsp capers (desalted)
- 14 oz pasta
- 1.7 fl oz white wine
Tools
- Pan
- Bowl
- Pot
Steps to make Pasta with Fresh Tuna, Eggplant and Cherry Tomatoes
For this recipe I decided to let the eggplants drain some of their vegetable water, so I left them to rest with salt for 10 minutes. This way, the eggplants did not fall apart when cooked, but if you don’t have time you can omit this step and the result will still be excellent.
Peel the eggplants. Cut them into cubes, and collect them in a colander,
sprinkle with a little salt and wait for them to release part of their vegetable water. After about 10 minutes, rinse them thoroughly with clean water or under running water to remove the excess salt. Squeeze them with your hands and pat them dry with a kitchen towel.
Peel, rinse and roughly chop the onion, put it in a pan and let it soften over low heat. Add the eggplant cubes to the onions, and cook over medium heat stirring often, until the eggplants are soft and golden-browned.
Add the fresh tuna cut into cubes and cook it for 1 minute, stirring often, just until it changes color and becomes lighter. Add the cherry tomatoes, olives, capers, and raisins, and mix.
Deglaze over high heat with the white wine and once it has evaporated turn off the heat and add the chopped parsley. While you prepare the sauce, cook the pasta and drain it al dente, add it to the sauce, toss with a little cooking water, plate and serve immediately.
Storage and tips
Pasta with fresh tuna, eggplant and cherry tomatoes is best enjoyed immediately, but if you have leftovers store them in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours and reheat quickly in a pan over high heat with a little oil before eating. It won’t be as good as freshly made, but it will still be tasty.
Pasta with fresh tuna, eggplant and cherry tomatoes is best enjoyed immediately, but if you have leftovers store them in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours and reheat quickly in a pan over high heat with a little oil before eating. It won’t be as good as freshly made, but it will still be tasty.
