Pasta with tuna, white beans & roasted tomatoes
Mint, chilli and lemon lift canned tuna into the realm of scrumptiousness, this dish from Julie Biuso is a "knockout" summer dish.
Julie BiusoFood writer and broadcaster
- prepare
- cook
- 6 servings
- Easy
Caption:Pasta with white beans and roasted tomatoes.Photo credit:Julie Biuso
Kicking off 2026 with a simply delicious summer pasta dish. I don’t often rave about pasta dishes, but this one is a knock-your-socks-off dish. The tomatoes and lemon can be prepared ahead, making it easy to throw together at dinner time. It’s just as good at room temperature as it is hot, so the whole thing can be made ahead if required.
Use Meyer lemons (bright yellow, thick-skinned and juicy lemons). Both the tomatoes and lemons can be cooked several hours ahead, making this a quick dish to put together at mealtime.
Ingredients
- Roasted tomatoes
- 600g smallish vine tomatoes
- Finely grated zest 1 lemon
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
- Flaky sea salt
- Caster sugar
- For glazed lemons
- 2 juicy lemons
- Olive oil
- Caster sugar
- A few pinches of chilli powder or chilli flakes for sprinkling
- Pasta and sauce
- 5 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil,
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
- Flaky sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 400g can cannellini beans, drained, rinsed and drained
- 350g linguine or spaghetti
- Coarse sea salt
- 400g can tuna in oil, drained
- ¼ cup small mint leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 210°C. Halve the tomatoes and arrange them cut side up in a shallow ovenproof dish such as a Swiss roll tin, lined with baking paper. Sprinkle with lemon zest, grind over plenty of pepper, drizzle with oil, then sprinkle with flaky sea salt and caster sugar. Bake the tomatoes for 30-40 minutes, or until they collapse and char around the edges. If the tomatoes are longer than 2cm, chop them in half with scissors once they’ve cooled.
- Slice the lemons thickly. Pat them dry with paper towels. Heat a little olive oil in a small frying pan over a high heat. Quickly dust the lemon slices with a little caster sugar, then add them to the pan, sugared side down. Cook quickly on both sides until lightly browned. Transfer to a plate and sprinkle very lightly with chilli powder or chilli flakes (just a hint).
- In a large bowl, mix five tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil with the garlic, half a teaspoon of flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Add the drained beans.
- Cook the pasta in plenty of gently boiling, well-salted water until al dente.
- Drain pasta. Toss with the garlicky oil and beans, using a rubber scraper to avoid crushing the beans. Add the tuna and tomatoes and toss lightly. Strew with mint, then top with fried lemon slices. Serve immediately.
