For years I thought tuna and tomato didn’t go together. And then I traveled to Italy and had the most delicious tuna and tomato pasta (which I ordered by accident) in a little restaurant just outside Florence.
Ever since then I’ve been a big fan because it’s easy to keep a can of tuna and a jar of passata (or canned tomatoes) in the pantry for a backup meal. I always have a head of cabbage in the fridge to use for things like this but of course pasta will also work if you want a true pantry meal.
This version I’ve served with boiled sliced cabbage. I know it sounds pretty boring but it’s one of my favourite low carb pasta alternatives. In my opinion it’s even better than zucchini ‘noodles’. And don’t get me started on how much I hate silly names like ‘zoodles’.
Quick Tuna Ragu
Ingredients
- 1/2 cabbage
- 2 tablespoons capers
- 1 large can canned tuna (400g / 14oz)
- 1/2 jar tomato passata / puree 1.5 cups
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- shaved parmesan cheese to serve
Instructions
- Slice cabbage into 5mm (1/4in) ribbons. Bring 1cm (1/2in) salted water to the boil in a large saucepan. Add cabbage and cook, covered for 4 minutes or until cabbage is no longer crunchy (think al dente like cooked pasta). Drain well and divide between two bowls.
- If capers are packed in salt rinse them. Return the pan to the heat and reduce the burner to medium-high. Add a very generous glug of extra virgin olive oil and add capers. Fry for a minute or two until capers are crisping up. Remove capers from the pan and drain on paper towel.
- Add tuna and the liquid from the can, passata and butter to the pot. Simmer for 5-10 minutes or until the sauce is reduced a little. Taste and season if needed but it probably will be fine with the salt from the tuna can. If it tastes too acidic or ‘not quite right’ melt some more butter in (more butter fixes everything!)
- Spoon the sauce over the cabbage in the bowls.
- Scatter over cooked capers and shaved parmesan.
WINE MATCH: A nice dry white like pinot gris, gruner veltliner or riesling.
Variations & Substitutions
short on time – skip the capers.
vegetarian / vegan – replace the tuna with cooked lentils, tempeh, white beans or chickpeas and replace parmesan with shaved brazil nuts.
dairy-free – replace parmesan with shaved brazil nuts or almonds or just skip it. Or my brazil nut ‘parmesan’.
more substantial (carb lovers) – use pasta!
more substantial (low carb) – use more cabbage! And serve with extra cheese, mayo, sour Cream or extra Tuna.
Low FODMAP – don’t use savoy cabbage and consider using a mix of cabbage and pasta.
keto / ultra low carb – serve tuna ragu on a bed of baby spinach or with other leafy greens. Use less tomato (1/2 cup).
family-friendly – pasta!
no capers – just skip them and use more parmesan. They do add a lovely depth of flavour. Actually pitted olives or anchovies cooked into the sauce will be good alternatives.
different veg – use zucchini noodles (spiralized zucchini) or carrot noodles. The sauce is also brilliant on broccoli or just a big bowl of baby spinach leaves.
carnivore – replace tuna with ground (minced) beef or sausages.
Problem Solving Guide
bland – more parmesan or a squeeze of lemon (or both!).
too dry – more butter. next time make sure you use tuna in oil.
Waste Avoidance Strategy
cabbage (white) – will keep in a plastic bag in the fridge for weeks, even months. Can be frozen but will have a wilted texture once defrosted.
pasta / capers / tuna / tomato passata – keep them in the pantry.
butter – will keep in the fridge for weeks.
parmesan – keeps for longer in a chunk so only shave when you’re cooking. I wrap in waxed paper or baking paper and then keep in an airtight container or a sealed ziplock bag. I prefer this over just wrapping in cling wrap because the air in the container allows the cheese to breathe and not sweat but the container / plastic bag prevents from drying out in the dry fridge air. Either way will keep for months.
Prepare Ahead
Yes! Just cook as per the recipe but keep the parmesan separately. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or can be frozen. To serve, bring back to a simmer in a saucepan.
Add to my Old Favourite Recipes
I have made similar with jarred spaghetti sauce with tuna added and served over uncooked spiralized zucchini,but would never have thought to use cabbage, which i love. This is so much better with cabbage! I think I can now further minimize my small kitchen space by giving away the spiralizer.
Gabbage is the best isn’t it Melanie 🙂
In a million years I NEVER would have thought that a can of tuna could be transformed ike this! I used tuna in water and this was absolutely delicious. Added this to my favorites\
Glad you were surprised Joan!
I took the plunge and made this with the cabbage noodles,without mixing in regular pasta. It was so yummy, I’ll definitely keep oil packed tuna in my pantry from now on.
oh excellent Murphy! Tuna in oil is one of my all time favourite pantry staples. And so glad you went fort he no pasta option – cabbage is so good!
I didn’t want to use the cabbage, because I still have leftovers from last week’s Magnificent Mince (Lentils) & Cabbage, which then meant I needed greens, so I cooked the
… Cacio e Pepe Broccoli too. I also had a carrot that needed using up, so I grated it and put it in the pan after the capers but before the passata etc. The capers were out of a jar and didn’t crisp as such (they spat a lot in the hot oil) but were tasty enough. With that oil and the oil from the tin of tuna, I didn’t have to add much butter (about a Tablespoon). I’ve cooked a lot of tuna and tomato pasta before, but this came out particularly well.
Excellent Mark!
If you want the capers to crisp more, patting them dry with paper towel before frying will help 🙂
Thanks, Jules. Please give this one a higher priority for updating to the new system.
Done Mark!
I had another go at this because none of the variations on meat+greens+mayo in this week’s meal plan appealed to me, and went with chickpeas because I’d made tuna risotto recently. olives (not fried) instead of capers. I went hard with the butter and the sauce tasted a bit cloying – veg stock powder fixed that, but less butter, more cheese would work better. Microwaved potato and broccoli instead of pasta. Not as good as tuna version but still not bad. Better as leftovers after the flavours had a chance to mingle.
Good to know that the chickpeas work here Mark 🙂
Made this for lunch yesterday & will eat the leftovers today. Was surprisingly delicious. I had never thought of sauteed cabbage paired with a pasta sauce, but it worked very well. Filling & delicious. And of course helpfully low carb. Thanks Jules!
Cabbage is the best Maria! And so good for you 🙂
I made this for lunch today. Scrumptious! Took a gamble here as I don’t usually like capers, but rinsing them first & then frying like this took it to a different level and, you’re right Jules, gave the whole dish a good depth of flavour. This is also the first time in my life I enjoyed boiled cabbage. Cooking it with your method in minimal salted water for just a few minutes made all the difference. What a great idea as a swap for pasta to get in more veg. I didn’t have cheese handy, but had some nutritional yeast which I mixed in with the sauce to give it a cheesy vibe! Wasn’t sure about this dish re boiled cabbage & capers, but it’s another winner! 🙂 Going to try the fried cabbage with egg next time. Thank you once again, Jules! Don’t know what I’d do without Stonesoup!
Wonderful Amrita!
So glad you overcame your skepticism around both capers and the cabbage. I’m looking forward to the weather getting cooler here so I can get back into my boiled cabbage. So good!
And you’re going to love the fried cabbage with egg.
I really appreciate you letting me know that Stonesoup is helping you! It means so much to me to hear that 🙂
xx