This dish may be the least expensive meal we’ve ever featured.
This recipe has so much going for it. It’s hard to how budget-friendly it is. The total cost of the dish was $15.51. Break that down and if you’re serving four, it’s $3.82 per person. And if you’re stretching out to six servings it falls to $2.58. I really recommend making it for 4. At $3.82 it’s still a huge bargain and it tastes so good, you’ll want to savor every bite. Lemon perfumes the whole dish. The garlic-y panko topping adds both aroma and flavor. Then there’s the tuna itself. Genova* fits the bill perfectly. It’s truly high-end tuna and from a company that takes sustainability very seriously. Packed in olive oil, it arrives at the table in chunks for maximum tuna flavor. The Sicilian olives give it an Italian accent. (They’re absent here. Andrew hates olives.) With or without them, the whole dish takes under 30 minutes.
A Word about Sustainability. 
Genova’s parent company, Thai Union Seafoods LLC. takes their fish very seriously. Here’s what they have to say: “Global environmental risks such as climate change and resource consumption is everyone’s business. Our SeaChange® initiatives will contribute to water reduction and waste-to-landfill reduction to bring down greenhouse gas emissions.” What struck me as incredible is that Thai Union can trace the origin of every can of tuna. You can do it yourself on their website! You enter the product code and up pops its origin. The website explains “Traceability from catch to consumption is the backbone of seafood sustainability. We trace 100% of our products back to the boats that caught the fish, allowing us to monitor – and improve on – our operations, actions, and labor conditions every step of the way.”
Albacore or Yellowfin, you decide.
Found in both tropical and temperate climates, Albacore’s meat is mild-tasting, low in fat, a great source of protein and Omega-3s. The fish themselves grow to up to 4 ½ feet in length. Yellowfin Tuna are found in deep offshore waters. Savory, rich, and flavorful, Yellowfin is renowned for its perfect texture. Here’s today’s recipe and are some other tuna favorites.
*Thai Union provided the Genova Tuna used in this recipe.
Lemon Spaghetti with Genova Tuna and Breadcrumbs
An incredible bargain and a great-tasting one at that, Lemon gives both spaghetti and tuna a lift while the garlic-y breadcrumbs add texture and flavor.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest, plus 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup chopped fresh chives
- ½ cup Castelvetrano olives, smashed, pits removed and halved
- 2 cans Genova Albacore tuna, in olive oil, drained
- Kosher salt and ground pepper
Directions
- Step 1 Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and sauté for 60 seconds until fragrant. Add the bread crumbs and sauté until toasty. Remove and set aside.
- Step 2 Bring a large pot of water to a boil. I like to use a skillet in which I add the ingredients once the pasta has been drained.
- Step 3 Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water. Drain pasta, and return to pot. Add lemon zest and juice, chives, olives, toss, adding enough pasta water to coat. Add tuna. Toss gently. Serve sprinkled with garlic toasted breadcrumbs and serve.
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