This is the tomato-less take on the classic pasta puttanesca. The sauce is prepared while the pasta cooks. The original recipe calls for anchovies; if you omit them, remember to add salt to the sauce. If you want to kick it up a notch, add pitted green olives or top the dish with some toasted breadcrumbs and lemon zest.
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until it is just under al dente, about 7 minutes. Drain, reserving 1.5 cups of the pasta cooking water.
While pasta cooks, make the sauce: Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add garlic and red-pepper flakes and cook until garlic is pale golden, about 1 minute. Add anchovies (if using) and capers and cook until anchovies have melted and/or capers begin to brown slightly, about 1 to 2 minutes.
Turn heat to medium. Ladle a 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water into the skillet and bring mixture to a simmer. Cook until mixture is reduced by about half, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add in arugula and ladle in an additional 1/2 cup of pasta water, tossing together until wilted. Increase heat to medium-high and scoop pasta directly in to the skillet tossing with sauce until well coated. Add tuna to pasta and toss again until it is just warmed just through, about 1 minute. Ladle in an additional 1/4 cup pasta water or more, to loosen up sauce and toss again. Sprinkle parsley over pasta and toss again. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve in bowls, with a squeeze of lemon, additional parsley and red-pepper flakes, if desired.
0 servings