Come summer, it's hard to resist pasta salad. There's something so comforting (and cooling!) about digging into a plateful – especially when there's no mayonnaise involved. We have nothing against mayonnaise, but the warm summer heat can render it unbecoming.
This pasta salad recipe combines spaghetti with three ingredients that could ring nostalgic for anyone who's ever traveled to the Italian seaside in the summer: tuna, lemon, and bottarga. Finished with capers and fresh mint, the cold spaghetti dish is quick, simple, and so vibrant that you won't be able to help but treat yourself to a second helping. The recipe serves four, but you might want to whip up some more just in case.
Photo: Riccardo Lettieri, Styling: Beatrice Prada
Pasta Salad With Spaghetti, Tuna, Lemon, and Bottarga Recipe
Recipe Giovanni Rota
Skill Level Easy
Cooking Time 30 minutes
Ingredients for 4
14 oz./400 g. fresh tuna
10 oz./280 g. spaghetti
3 oz./80 g. capers
fresh bottarga
lemon
fresh mint
salt
pepper
extra-virgin olive oil
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt and cook the spaghetti until al dente – don't overcook it. If the noodles are too soft, the end result will be mushy when combined with the oil and other ingredients.
In the meantime, cut the tuna into cubes and drizzle them with extra-virgin olive oil. Sear the tuna cubes in a very hot pan for 1 minute.
Drain the spaghetti and place it in a bowl of very cold water – this stops the cooking and keeps the al dente texture intact. Once cool, place the pasta in a large salad bowl and season it as you would a salad with extra-virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, and the grated zest of 1 lemon.
Complete with the diced tuna, capers, and grated bottarga to taste.
Garnish with fresh mint or oregano leaves and serve.