Weekend Foodie: Tuna and pasta for a quick and easy back-to-school dinner
Di says this quick and easy pasta dish is popular with all the family, and can be made with or without pesto.
The first couple of weeks of getting the kids back to school can take some adjusting to, after a long and lazy summer holiday. But all good things must come to an end, and as we enter the first term of the school year, it’s time to get back into routine at home. This usually means organising main meals a little more rigidly and speedily than we do in the holiday season. My very fast and tasty pasta dish is one that parents, older kids and teens will love. It fits the bill for a family dinner made in double quick time and satisfies the hunger gap. Spaghetti is dressed with a simple mix of tomato, tuna and scallions with some green pesto to add taste. The pesto is at your discretion, depending on whether your gang like it or not. If they don’t, then simply dress with extra olive oil instead. For pud, something that starts with a leisurely weekend activity. The picking of wild blackberries is a definite must at this time of year. Some areas have had ripe berries for a while, others got a little less sun and are just reaping the benefits now. I’ve dug out a wild blackberry and apple crumble tart recipe which is a lovely thing to make with the kids after blackberry picking. The smell from the oven as it bakes is divine!
- 400g spaghetti
- Olive oil for cooking
- 4 ripe tomatoes, chopped
- 1 bunch scallions, trimmed and chopped
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
- 2 x 200g cans tuna in oil, drained
- 2 tbsp parsley, chopped
- 2 tbsp green pesto, or to taste
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Cook spaghetti in a large pan of boiling, lightly salted water with a splash of olive oil added.
- While pasta is cooking, heat a little oil in a non-stick frying pan and cook the tomatoes, scallions and garlic for a minute.
- Add tuna and stir through. Remove from heat.
- When spaghetti is tender but still with bite, remove from heat and drain. Return to pan.
- Add tuna mix to spaghetti with chopped parsley, pesto and a splash of olive oil and stir through over low heat for a minute or so.
- Season with freshly ground black pepper and salt if needed.
- Spoon into pasta bowls to serve.
- 175g flour
- 100g chilled butter, in cubes
- 1 egg
- 1 large cooking apple, peeled and in chunks
- 200g wild blackberries (approx)
- Splash of water
- Knob of butter
- 2-3 tbsp sugar (to taste)
- 100g butter, plus extra for dotting
- 100g flour
- Icing sugar for decoration
- Place pastry ingredients in a food processor and whizz to form a ball.
- Wrap in film and chill for 20 minutes or until firm enough to roll.
- Roll out to fit the base of a traditional pie plate. Butter the pie plate and lay over the pastry. Trim excess from edges.
- Prick the pastry lightly and bake blind for about 10 minutes in a pre-heated oven, Gas 5 375F 190C (180C fan assisted), until pastry is just set and beginning to crisp.
- Remove from oven, lift out the baking parchment and beans and set aside.
- For the filling, place apples and blackberries with water, butter and sugar in a pan and cook gently till very tender and pulpy. Remove from heat and cool.
- For the crumble topping, place butter and flour in a bowl and rub together with fingers, to make a rough large breadcrumb texture, or do this in a processor by pulsing intermittently to get the right texture. Spread the cooled fruit into the base of the pie plate.
- Top with crumble topping and dot with extra butter.
- Return to a pre-heated oven Gas 5 375F 190C (180C) for 20 minutes or until the base is crisp and top is golden and bubbling.
- Dust with icing sugar and serve hot with custard or cream.
For parents who fancy a glass of wine with this main course, I've got a great choice to handle the strong flavours of tuna, scallions and pesto. This dish works best with a white wine to provide a balancing edge to all the flavoursome ingredients. Supervalu has a great deal this week on the fabulous Alterra Chardonnay, which will cope with all the flavours in this dish. Made from grapes grown in the Aconcagua Valley, part of the Andes Mountains terrain in Chile. The mountains provide water from natural springs to nourish the soil in which these grapes are grown. Add to this the perfect climate and altitude to produce ripe grapes with good fruit and refreshing acidity and you have a winner of a wine. This Chardonnay is packed with ripe melon and pineapple notes with some lively lime zest on the finish. And it's an absolute bargain now, down from €15.99 to €7.99 till 3/09/25 or while stocks last. Don’t miss it!
Spaghetti 1kg: €1.59
Tuna in oil 2 x 145g cans:€2.18
Scallions bunch: 99c
Tomatoes x 6 pack: €1.29
Fresh pesto 150g: €2.50
Fresh parsley pack: €1.19
Total: €9.74
D
Cooking apples x 4 pce: €1.59
Wild Blackberries: Free
Butter 227g: €2.39
Flour 2kg: €1.29
Total: €5.27
App?
