Simple Spaghetti with Tuna and Tomatoes

This recipe was a long time coming.  I had been watching chefs on the Food Network, such as Mario Batali and Giada De Laurentiis make versions of this and I always wondered what it would taste like.  But truth be told, I was scared that making the canned tuna warm would be super fishy.  Well to my surprise, its not at all!!!

Last week I took a bunch of cooking books out of the library.  Owen took interest in several recipes, so I told him to choose 4 to make this week.  This Spaghetti recipe was one of them.  

It can be thrown together in less than 15 minutes, perfect for a busy weeknight, and a great option to add healthy protein to every kids favorite dish - pasta and sauce.  Yes, we love meatballs; but homemade meatballs takes some time, and store-bought have lots of ingredients I would prefer to avoid.   So this is now something I KNOW my kiddos will eat without any drama.  IN fact, Owen said he like this MORE than his regular pasta with plain sauce. WHAT?!?!?!  I'll take it!

A more grown-up version would add capers and kalamata olives, or maybe even an anchovy or two for the foodies out there.  As many of my recipes, I want you to take it and make it your own.   This can be served with a green salad or roasted veggies.

Happy Cooking!!

Sarah

Simple Spaghetti with Tuna and Tomatoes

8 oz whole grain spaghetti (I like Ronzoni Smart Taste)

1-2 T olive oil

1 cup of your favorite clean marinara sauce (or you can make a quick pan-sauce with

1 T olive oil, 2 cloves of garlic and 1 cup of pureed canned tomatoes)

1 can (5 oz) albacore tuna, packed in water

1/2 cup Romano cheese

reserved pasta water

Cook the pasta according to the package in heavily salted water.   Once its ready, reserve some of the pasta water and drained the spaghetti. 

Meanwhile, heat up or make your sauce (heat pan, add olive oil add the garlic and saute for about 1 minute.  Add the tomatoes, stir and allow to warm before moving to next step.).   Once warmed through, add the tuna breaking it up until its just warmed through, about 2 minutes.   Add the spaghetti and toss everything together.  If its dry, you can add some pasta water and top off with the grated Romano. 

Enjoy!!!!