Fresh
Easy Tuna & Olive Pasta Salad
A make-ahead lunch that travels well from kitchen to lunchbox to picnic mat. Cibo di Italia Fusilli grabs the lemony dressing, and the tuna, olives and capers do all the flavour work. Better after an hour in the fridge.
Ingredients
- 350 g Cibo di Italia Fusilli
- 2 pieces tins of tuna in olive oil — around 160g drained weight in total
- 100 g pitted black olives — halved
- 2 tbsp capers — rinsed
- 200 g cherry tomatoes — quartered
- 1/2 pieces red onion — very finely sliced
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 piece small handful flat-leaf parsley — chopped
- to taste salt and black pepper
Method
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Step 1. Bring 4 litres of salted water (2 tbsp salt) to a boil. Cook the fusilli for 9 minutes — you want it al dente; it firms up further as it cools.
9 min
-
Step 2. While the pasta cooks, soak the red onion in cold water for 10 minutes to soften its bite, then drain.
10 min
-
Step 3. In a small bowl, whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon, a generous pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper into a smooth dressing.
1 min
-
Step 4. Drain the fusilli, rinse briefly under cold water, and drain again well. Tip into a large mixing bowl.
1 min
-
Step 5. While still slightly warm, pour over half the dressing and toss — the pasta will drink it in and stay seasoned.
1 min
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Step 6. Flake the tuna over the top with its oil, then add the olives, capers, tomatoes, drained onion and parsley.
1 min
-
Step 7. Pour over the rest of the dressing and toss gently to combine. Taste and adjust with more lemon, salt or pepper.
1 min
-
Step 8. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes before serving so the flavours mingle. Keeps for 2 days in the fridge.
Goes well with
Iced peach tea with lemon — sweet, sharp, summery.
Warm flatbread brushed with olive oil and za'atar.
Watermelon wedges with a sprinkle of sea salt.
Nutrition
Scaled to your servings
- 573kcalCalories29%
- 60.8gCarbohydrate23%
- 22.3gProtein45%
- 26.7gFat38%
The pasta we used
Cibo di Italia Fusilli
500g · Cooks in 9–11 minutes · Serves ~5
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