Quick Tuna and Corn Pasta – Hot or Cold

Welcome back to the 18-Minute Egg with an open-minded student dish that can be served hot or cold. Comforting spaghetti is mixed with canned tuna, canned corn, and a few condiments you already have in the fridge to quickly give you a meal at the end of a long day or for your bagged lunch the next day. It has a weight and richness reminiscent of pasta carbonara, alfredo, or traditional pasta salad, but in actuality it is not nearly as heavy or dairy-soaked. The key to making this dish make you feel good afterwards is to not eat too much of it and to eat it with a big, leafy salad.

In a different light: this is my lower-cal take on Mama June’s tuna noodle casserole. Or: I hate macaroni salad, but this improved version is lighter and not as creepy-looking.

 

Serves: 3-4
Time: 20 min
(assuming your stove doesn’t need all day to boil water)

Ingredients:

• 350-400 g spaghetti, broken into approximately thirds
  (Regular or whole-grain pasta will both work.)
• 3 x 85 g cans of tuna, drained
• 340 ml (1 can) canned corn
• 3 Tbsp mayonnaise
• 2 Tbsp your favourite mustard
• 1 tsp dried tarragon
• 3-4 green onions, sliced thinly
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 1/2 Tbsp + a little more of half-decent olive oil
• freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
• salt, to taste

 

1. Bring a big pot of water to a boil. Cook spaghetti according to instructions to al dente.

2. Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix tuna, corn, mayonnaise, mustard, tarragon, green onions, and cayenne pepper together until they are about uniformly distributed.

My favourite bowl was dirty.

3. When the spaghetti has finished cooking, drain it then return it to the pot in which it was boiled.

4. Stir the tuna mixture into the spaghetti.

Well now doesn’t this look appetizing.  Hahahaha.

5. The pasta may be a little dry, so at 1/2 Tbsp or more of olive oil.

6. Add pepper and salt, to taste. Frankly, I don’t think this needs more salt than what is already apparent in the canned ingredients and condiments.

7. Serve hot with a green salad on the side. Or, serve cold for lunch with salad on top of it.