Saffron-Tinted Pasta Salad with Tuna and Fresh Herbs
The Makings of a Classic
Saffron-Tinted Pasta Salad with Tuna and Fresh Herbs | Dara O’Brien
By Dara O’Brien
Creative Director, Lake Isle Press
Spicing up my diet never an issue for me as a kid. Not because my family had exotic dining habits; just the opposite, in fact. My parents fostered a climate of steadiness and dependability in every aspect our lives together, and I took comfort in the routine predictability of our family meals.
My mom had about ten to fifteen workaday, easily replicable, and highly consistent dinner recipes in her rotation, like chicken and rice with gravy or her bimonthly meatloaf (with a surprise hardboiled egg inside) served with spinach and a baked potato. Sunday breakfast meant scrambled eggs and bacon served with fresh rolls and buns from the bakery. For my birthday I could have any cake I wanted, as long there was a Duncan Hines mix for it. Mealtime was about comfort and familiarity, not a taste of the unknown.
To say I never would have encountered Saffron-tinted Pasta Salad with Tuna and Fresh Herbs in my childhood years is an understatement. My understanding of tuna was that it came in a can packed in water and you ate it doused with mayonnaise and then slathered rather skimpily on bread or mixed into elbow macaroni and more mayo. A meal like this, as simple as it is, would not have computed.
The recipe is from “Seafood Ala Scilliana: Recipes and Stories from a Living Tradition” by Toni Lydecker, published by Lake Isle Press. I include it here as written, but when I made it the other day I adapted it to my pantry (and palate).
I included the carrot, parsley, capers, and saffron, but subbed a 5-ounce can of supermarket tuna in oil for a 7-ounce jar of Italian tuna like Tonnino. I used penne but just half a pound. I saved the oil from the tuna can and added it along with a few drizzles of olive oil, replaced olives with red bell pepper, added chopped scallions, and omitted the mozzarella. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The key to this recipe is the saffron along with the olive oil and herbs. The pasta absorbed the saffron-infused pasta water and took on a mild, earthy note, while the tuna oil/olive oil and parsley delivered subtle flavor augmented by the savory capers. Never a fan of olives, I thought the red pepper added great taste and texture along with the matchstick carrots, and the scallions added a bright, but understated oomph.
Even with half the pasta I had plenty of leftovers, and shared them with a friend the next day. Her only complaint was “I can’t stop eating it.”
Whether you follow the recipe to the letter or play around with it as I did, this is definitely not the tuna pasta salad I grew up on. Not that I am suggesting there isn’t a place for that familiar classic. There is indeed comfort in the familiar—and tastiness, as well. But as much as I look back with love and gratitude on the constancy and routines of my childhood, now that I’m grown up I like to shake things up a bit.
Saffron-Tinted Pasta Salad with Tuna and Fresh Herbs Recipe
Click here for printable recipe.
Prep 15 minutes | Cook 10 minutes (plus cooling time for the pasta)
Makes 6 servings
INGREDIENTS
Sea salt or kosher salt
1 pound paccheri or other short pasta (see Note)
⅛ teaspoon crushed saffron threads
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 can (6 to 7 ounces) good-quality tuna in olive oil, drained
¾ to 1 cup finely chopped mixed fresh herbs such as basil, flat-leaf parsley, and mint
6 to 8 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into small cubes
1 medium carrot, peeled and cut crosswise into short lengths, then lengthwise into small matchsticks
¼ cup black and/or green Mediterranean olives, pitted, slivered
1 heaping tablespoon salt- cured capers, soaked in water for a few minutes and drained
PREPARATION
Place a large pot of cold water over high heat and bring to a boil; add salt. Add the pasta and cook until al dente.
Reserving ½ cup of the cooking water, drain the pasta and transfer to a serving bowl. Whisk the saffron into the reserved cooking liquid and stir it into the pasta. Drizzle a generous amount of olive oil over the pasta, stirring well, and season with salt. Let the pasta cool, stirring from time to time; the pasta will absorb most of the liquid and take on a saffron tone.
Flake the tuna into a small bowl. With a fork, mix in the chopped herbs. Add to the pasta, along with the mozzarella, carrot, olives, and capers. Stir with a wooden spoon to mix thoroughly. Season to taste with more olive oil and salt. Let stand at room temperature for up to an hour, or refrigerate.
NOTE
Paccheri are extremely large, short tubes, often ridged, that make an unusual and interesting pasta salad. De Cecco is one company that makes this shape for its premium line. If you don't find paccheri, substitute penne, rigatoni, or any short pasta.
Recipe from “Raising the Salad Bar” by Catherine Walthers, Lake Isle Press, 2007
Saffron-Tinted Pasta Salad with Tuna and Fresh Herbs Recipe
from Seafood alla Siciliana: Recipes & Stories From a Living Tradition
by Toni Lydecker, Lake Isle Press, 2009
“A uniquely satisfying cookbook [full of] alluring, easy-to-follow recipes.” —Food & Wine
Seafood alla Siciliana: Recipes & Stories From A Living Tradition” is the first cookbook to explore in depth the rich culinary dimensions of Sicilian seafood, features recipes that burst with authentic flavor and bring to life the island’s eclectic cooking styles—a brilliant mix of Greek, Arab, French, and Spanish influences. Nothing could be simpler or more delicious than a Sicilian-style baked or grilled fish, served with a simple salmoriglio sauce of olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt, and oregano, and this cookbook will show how to put it on the table.
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