Guys - I'm not talking about the fancy-shmancy pricey Italian imported tuna in olive oil. StarKist now sells canned tuna in olive oil, & that's what I buy. Every supermarket around here carries it - even WalMart. Really take a minute to check out the canned tuna section of your market, because it's easy to miss. But once you taste it & use it in your recipes, you won't forget it.
As far as what I use it for? Besides the usual mayo tuna salad for tuna melts, etc.; plain for a Nicoise salad; as a component of various Tuna Casseroles; this is by far my favorite recipe for it:
Breezy Mediterranean Tuna Pasta Sauce
Two 4.5-ounce cans StarKist Solid Light Tuna Fillet in Olive Oil, undrained
Approximately 10-12 caper berries, roughly chopped (or 2 tablespoons regular capers, left whole)
Approximately 10-12 Kalamata olives, pitted & roughly chopped
1 medium fresh tomato, roughly chopped
Two large garlic cloves, peeled & chopped
Approximately ½ cup fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Juice from ½ a lemon
Splash of dry white Italian wine (I like Pinot Grigio)
Approximately one teaspoon dried oregano
Extra-virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons of butter (or leftover seafood butter**)
Several dashes of crushed red pepper flakes
Small handful of baby arugula (optional)
1# of spinach fettuccine or linquini to serve
Cook pasta according to package directions & drain.
While pasta is cooking, coat the bottom of a large skillet with extra-virgin olive oil & add butter to melt over medium heat. Add chopped garlic & sauté lightly for just a couple of minutes. Do not allow to brown (or – heaven forbid – burn! If garlic burns, start over again).
Add all remaining ingredients & stir occasionally – very gently – to heat through.
Serve over spinach pasta.
** “Seafood Butter” is the leftover dipping butter I save when my husband & I have steamed clams or lobster, etc., etc. I save & freeze it to use in recipes such as this, as well as for butter-poaching thick fish like cod, etc. While I’d never save dipping butter that was used communally by other people, hubby & I feel that we have the same “cooties”, so this has worked out quite well – lol!!