I am pleased to partner with Genova, who makes canned yellowfin tuna, for this post on a canned tuna pasta that I made using their product.
Happy Friday!
I’m frantically working up all my photos (close to 700!) from my week-long trip to London and Munich. Until then, we will take a brief pause and head on over to my kitchen, where I’ve actually been cooking A LOT lately!
While I was in Germany, the very first shipment of my summer CSA (community supported agriculture) farm share came in. A weekly farm share is great because it ensure that I eat plenty of vegetables. The element of surprise each week (“what will come in my share today?”), is fun and stretches my creativity as I think up new ways to use all the produce.
I typically end up cooking a lot more during the summer months, sometimes in Herculean efforts to “use up the farm share.” In fact, this week I cooked every single day (with the exception of one crazy late night ramen adventure that stretched into the early morning).
Right before I left for Europe, another fun shipment came in – a special treat from Genova. Genova, who makes Mediterranean-style (packed in olive oil) premium tuna sent me a gorgeous gift basket complete with cans of premium yellowfin tuna, olive tapenade, artichokes, a bottle of wine, cheese, crackers, a cute olivewood cheeseboard (or maybe cutting board?) from Sur La Table, and even a book on Mediterranean cooking!
I’m not exactly an expert on Mediterranean cooking, but Bryan loves pasta, and I had tons of gorgeous greens from my farm share.
Inspired by the various ingredients they sent (plus the fact that I was short on time that evening), I whipped up a super fast dinner using about half of the ingredients from the gift basket.
I chopped up TONS of garlic (you can never have too much garlic, ha ha!) and slowly cooked them over super low heat in olive oil.
After about 10 minutes or so (you don’t want them to brown!), I added the whole jar of marinated artichokes.
I then opened up the cans of tuna and added them. I was surprised at the quality of the tuna. Maybe I still have visions of the simple cans (“packed in water”) that I used to eat growing up – pale, shredded tuna that worked great in tuna salad but would not be chunky enough for a pasta application.
This tuna was definitely different, and changed my internal perception about canned tuna. Not only does it hold up to fancier dishes, I like the fact that it’s wild caught (not farmed!) and a sustainable fish. I kept thinking, “hmmm, it’s not a bad idea to have a few cans of tuna around for those times when Bryan asks, ‘where’s the meat?'” In our household fish counts as “meat”. I think he really just means protein – aka, please don’t just cook the farm share vegetables and call that a meal.
Can you believe this is canned tuna pasta?
I threw in a bunch of the gorgeous spinach from my farmshare, added a bit of salt and a touch of finishing olive oil, and I was done! The tuna, artichokes, and olive tapenade added plenty of flavor, and I barely had to do anything to make this pasta taste really good.
GIVEAWAY!
I am thrilled to be able to give away another gift basket full of Mediterranean goodies (just like the one I got!). To enter, please comment below answering one (or more, or even all if you wish) of the questions:
1) your favorite Mediterranean food(s)
2) your favorite Mediterranean restaurant
2) any fun trips this summer planned?
One entry per person. Giveaway ends in Tuesday, June 23rd at midnight, East Coast Time. If you are interested in trying out the tuna, here is a $1 off coupon.
Enjoy!
Update! Congrats to Teresa for winning the Giveaway! Teresa said the following answer:
1. Caprese salad
2. Mamma Maria or Carlo’s Cucina Italiana in Boston
3. I’m heading to Greece for a wedding in a few weeks! Can’t wait for the food!
Thanks for participating!
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 5-10 cloves of garlic, finely minced
- 2-3 tablespoons black olive tapenade
- 1 jar artichokes (around 7 oz, packed in oil)
- 2 cans of solid light tuna, packed in olive oil (5 oz cans)
- 2-3 cups spinach leaves
- ½ lb dried pasta
- chili flakes (optional)
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. If using dried pasta (or any pasta that has a longer cooking time), cook pasta according to instructions before starting the sauce. Otherwise, wait until the sauce is done before making quick-cooking pasta (e.g., fresh pasta that takes 1-2 minutes to cook).
- Over low heat, cook minced garlic in extra virgin olive oil for about 10 minutes, or until soft
- Add black olive tapenade, artichokes, and tuna. Cook for about 1-2 minutes, or until everything is heated through.
- Add spinach and stir for about 1 minute, or just until the spinach is wilted. Drain the cooked pasta and add the pasta directly to the sauce, adding a tiny bit of pasta water only if needed (use your judgment). Add salt to taste, and optionally chili flakes if you want a bit of spice.
- Please note, the amounts above are very flexible. If you like a saltier pasta with more umami, add more black olive tapenade. If you love vegetables, you can easily increase the amount of spinach. However, if you want to add a lot of spinach, I would advise precooking it in another vessel so it's easier to mix in later.
Disclaimer – this post is sponsored by Genova. I did not pay for the Mediterranean basket of ingredients. All opinions are my own.
Mmmm, olives are my favorite. Any kind!
I love Mediterranean cuisine, both cooking and eating all kinds of dishes. I’ve tried out several recipes from Yotam Ottolenghi’s cookbooks
1) Fave dish: Moussaka, followed closely by falafel
2) Fave restaurant: Sofra Bakery in Boston area and Amanouz cafe in Northampton, MA.
3) Summer getaway: Provincetown!
I don’t know too much about Mediterranean food, but I would love to cook some. My summer plan is to head to Vegas. Maybe I’ll find a Mediterranean restaurant there!
1) your favorite Mediterranean food(s)
souvlaki!
2) your favorite Mediterranean restaurant
Ethos in New York
2) any fun trips this summer planned?
not yet!
1) your favorite Mediterranean food(s)
Grilled Octopus
2) your favorite Mediterranean restaurant
Barbuzzo- Philly
2) any fun trips this summer planned?
Austin, TX for BBQ count?
I love hummus and bread, Any variation of hummus like roasted pepper or garlic also
I’m heading to Chicago for a business conference… BUT, I am taking 2 days to play. I’ll be dining at Alinea!!! Can’t wait!!
My favorite Mediterranean restaurant is Arugula. I love a pasta salad made with my homemade lemon pepper pasta and toss with olive oil, lemon juice, and lots of veggies just blanched. I’m only going on day trips that I know of, but they are fun, we go for a drive into the country with a picnic basket and find local honey, dairy farms, flower farms!
My favorite Mediterranean dish is Greek lamp chops! And maybe grilled Haloumi cheese. Yum!
1) Salads with olives, cheeses, and good quality meats- I’m a low carber
2) My favorite restaurant is the Canal Bistro Mediterranean Grille in Indianapolis, IN.
3) No trips planned for the summer yet, but I’m still hopeful!! 🙂
Hummus and falafels!
1. Favorite Mediterranean food is olives, olives, olives!
2. Favorite Mediterranean restaurant is Mezza
3. No trips planned.
1) Fave dish: Spanakopita and Lamejun (middle-eastern flatbread)
2) Fave restaurant: Sarma in Boston and Halal Guys in NYC
3) Summer plans: NYC where else!
I love Mediterranean cuisine-both cooking and eating it. I’ve tried out several recipes from Yotam Ottolenghi’s cookbooks.
1) Favorite food: Moussaka and Falafel
2) Favorite Mediterranean restaurant: Sofra Bakery in Boston and Amanouz Cafe in Northampton
3) Summer getaway: Provincetown
Hummus, Tzatziki, and kebabs—
1) your favorite Mediterranean food(s)
Greek Cucumber Salad; any shish kabobs, Souvlaki, Mrouzia almond chicken (Moroccan dish)
2) your favorite Mediterranean restaurant
Café Paprika – Norwood, MA, Mediterranean, Moroccan food, my wife found this place, Mrouzia almond chicken is one of the signature dish. Service was good.
Paros on Main – Airdrie, Alberta, Canada. Greek Restaurant, recently I ate there, very good food, a little pricy, lamb Shish kabob was excellent, service was slow.
2) any fun trips this summer planned?
We just did the Baltic Sea Cruise with 18 people from Church, we were the self tour guide except St Petersburg. Highlight of the trip are Copenhagen (Denmark), Germany, Tallinn (Estonia), St Petersburg (Russia) and Helsinki (Finland). Unfortunately due to weather, we did not go to Stockholm (Sweden).
Summer we plan to relax a few days in Newport, RI. There will be a few one day trip around MA, Maine, CT and NH area. Late Fall we plan to visit Germany (Cologne, Berlin etc). There are just not enough free time of the year to do more travel!
Wow. that board is beautiful! And filled with so many goodies eek!
1) your favorite Mediterranean food(s) – baba ghanoush
2) your favorite Mediterranean restaurant – Momed Beverly Hills in LA – simple but delicious!
2) any fun trips this summer planned? ooh, I just came back from Korea and ate double my weight. And then I went hiking in the himalayas. 1 week before the earthquake :'( Nepal is a undoubtedly a beautiful country.
Thanks so much!!
I love a good mushroom couscous and we are headed to the Oregon coast. Not far from where we live, but it’s still away 🙂 Thanks for the chance!
Hummus… I could find a way to eat it daily!
My favorite is a chicken/feta/tomato pasta dish that my grandmother gave me the recipe for. This summer we are going to do some backyard remodeling. Thank you for the wonderful giveaway.
Erin
ErinLoves2Run at gmail dot com
1) I really like hummus and baba ganoush.
Favorite Mediterranean food is HUMMUS!
My favorite is Greek Salad with chicken ; Kamalata’s
I love fish and olives!! This is such a great giveaway
1. Caprese salad
2. Mamma Maria or Carlo’s Cucina Italiana in Boston
3. I’m heading to Greece for a wedding in a few weeks! Can’t wait for the food!
1) Favorite Mediterranean food: Moussaka and Falafel
2) Favorite Mediterranean restaurant: Sofra in Boston and Amanouz Cafe in Northampton
3) Summer plans: Provincetown
I commented before but I don’t know why it’s not being accepted.
We are headed to Malaysia in a few weeks, and then Morocco at the end of the year! Can’t wait!!!
Our summer plans include a wedding in Pittsburgh, PA, and a trip to the beach!
I love to make dishes very similar to the one you made here–anything with pasta! I’m heading to India at the beginning of September and I’m super excited!
3. I’m going to Barcelona this summer!
I wish I have fun summer plans but will be working most weekends 🙁
Lamb ragout from a good Mediterranean place
1) favorite Mediterranean foods: Hummus and most anything with grilled octopus. And toum!
2) favorite Mediterranean restaurant: Sarma
3) fun trip: Camping in NH
My favorite Mediterranean meal is meat stuffed grape leaves. Love them!
I like greek olives.
I never really had much Mediterranean food, but I eat hummus on all kinds of things! No trips are planned for us this summer as we are awaiting the arrival of our new little one.
1) your favorite Mediterranean food(s)
I enjoy Mediterranean salad and lamb chops
2) your favorite Mediterranean restaurant
Grape Leaf Diner in Holland, Ohio
2) any fun trips this summer planned?
We will help our youngest moving to Portland, Oregon in July.
I like gyros and greek salads.
1. Hummus with pita bread
2. Favorite Mediterranean restaurant: Troy
3. Summer trip: Rome, cruise to Greece, Turkey, and Crete