Another Scrounge Dinner - Tuna Tonnato-ish

It was another night to scrounge. Nothing sounded good and I was out of my normal weeknight dinner options. My pantry is getting pretty bare so I needed to a little more digging than usual. The result wound up based on an Italian dish called Tuna Tonnato

Tuna Tonnato-ish over Linguini

1 tsp anchovy paste
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small shallot, finely chopped
1 can tuna in olive oil, undrained
1/4 cup white wine
Trader Joe's Starter Sauce ~ 17 oz
(contains tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil, salt and olive oil)
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp dried basil
¼ tsp ground Black pepper
3 heaping Tbs drained capers
~ 15 cured black olives, pitted and chopped (Kalamata)
Romano Cheese
1/3 lb thin linguini


Cook linguini according to package directions in a generous amount of salted boiling water.

Meanwhile, add anchovy paste to 1 Tbs olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add shallot and cook until shallot begins to soften, stirring frequently so it doesn’t burn. Add garlic and cook until fragrant and shallot is softened.

Add tuna (along with olive oil) to pan and stir. Pour white wine and cook for ~ 30 seconds, stirring and breaking up big pieces of tuna with a wooden spoon or spatula.

Add Starter Sauce* to the pan then stir in red pepper, basil and black pepper. Mix in capers and black olives. Lower heat to medium and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Taste and add salt as necessary but the capers and black olives should add enough salt.

Add cooked linguini to pan with the sauce and stir together using tongs.

Serve with cheese.

Yields: 2 servings

Substitutions and other Suggestions:
• If you're not lucky enough to have Trader Joe’s Starter Sauce in your pantry, use 14-16 oz canned tomatoes. Whatever you have in your pantry is fine: chopped, diced, whole or even crushed.
• If I’d had artichoke hearts, I would have added them.
• I happened to have Romano cheese for a previous dish. Parmesan cheese works great as well but no cheese is necessary. Just a personal preference.
• I didn’t have red pepper flake or I would have used that instead of the cayenne. ~ 1 tsp+ depending on your heat tolerance
• Toss with Fussily or Rotini pasta and serve chilled or at room temperature.