EN DE FR ES PT IT
Tuna, Capers & Lemon Spaghetti
Recipe

Tuna, Capers & Lemon Spaghetti

Quick & Easy

Fast spaghetti tossed in a lemony tuna-caper sauce emulsified with pasta water.

Why smarter

20 minutes is realistic: 5–7 min to boil water with a lid, 9–11 min to cook spaghetti, 2 min to zest/juice lemon and prep tuna/capers, 2–3 min to warm and emulsify, then toss and plate.

Chef tip

For the best texture, keep the tuna in larger flakes and rely on starchy pasta water to bind the sauce instead of adding cream. Shortcut: Use canned tuna and jarred capers.

Ingredients

# Ingredient Text Amount Unit Ingredient Name Notes
1 200 g spaghetti 200.000 g spaghetti
2 160 g canned tuna 160.000 g canned tuna
3 2 tbsp capers 2.000 tbsp capers
4 1 lemon 1.000 lemon

Method

  1. Bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti until al dente.
  2. Meanwhile zest the lemon and juice half. Drain tuna if needed; rinse capers briefly if very salty.
  3. In a large skillet over medium heat, warm tuna and capers for 1–2 minutes, breaking tuna into chunks.
  4. Reserve 150 ml pasta water, then drain spaghetti. Add spaghetti to the skillet with 100 ml pasta water, lemon zest and 2–3 tbsp lemon juice.
  5. Toss vigorously for 30–60 seconds until glossy and lightly saucy, adding more pasta water as needed. Season with black pepper and extra lemon to taste, then plate.