Tuna, Spinach & Tomato Pasta

When I moved out of the house, my mother bought me one of those Ina Paarman Mini Cookbook's. I tried out literally every recipe in the book and one of my very favourites was her Tuna and Tomato Tagliatelle with Rocket. I've made the recipe a thousand times since then, but I have changed the recipe a little bit every time I've cooked it.

Looking back now, my version of this pasta is far from the original Ina Paarman recipe I started with. The rocket has been replaced with spinach (and lots of it) and I make my own tomato-based sauce instead of purchasing the bottled kind. I also like to add cherry tomatoes to get some chunky bits to the pasta sauce and one day I discovered that its even better when I take the time to pre-grill them in the oven with a splash of balsamic vinegar.

This pasta is best served with a long noodle like Spaghetti or Tagliatelle but is also quite nice with Penne. I tend to serve this with grated Parmesan over the top or even some blobs of chunky cottage cheese. Deeeelish!

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

300g Rosa Tomatoes, halved.
2 tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar.
Coarse Salt.
Freshly Ground Black Pepper.
1 tbsp. Butter.
2 tbsp. Butter.
1 tbsp. Lemon Juice.
1 tbsp. Garlic Paste / Bottled Chopped Garlic.
400g Baby Spinach.
2 Cups Tomato Passata (A whole 700g Bottle)
1 tsp. Dried Sweet Basil.
2 tbsp. Ina Paarmans Lemon and Black Pepper Seasoning.
2 Tins Tuna, Drained.
400g Cooked Pasta.

Method

1) Preheat the Grill.
2) Pack the halved tomatoes in a small oven proof dish in a single layer.
3) Sprinkle the tomatoes with the balsamic vinegar and top with a generous helping of salt and pepper.
4) Grill the tomatoes until they are soft and starting to blacken and blister.
5) While the tomatoes are grilling, heat the butter, lemon juice and garlic in a large pot.
6) Adding 100g of spinach at a time, add the spinach and stir fry until it starts to wilt.
7) Remove the spinach from the pot and squeeze out any excess juices (or drain the spinach on a colander).
8) Mix together the tomato passata, the Sweet Basil and the Lemon & Black Pepper with some salt and pepper.
9) Bring the sauce to the boil, turn down the heat and simmer with the lid on for 15 minutes.
10) Add the drained spinach, roasted tomatoes and any balsamic vinegar left in the pan to the pot.
11) Add the tuna and stir through, leave it to simmer for another 5 minutes.
12) Serve over the cooked pasta with some freshly grated Parmesan or some chunky cottage cheese.