Tuna Sweetcorn Pasta with Mayo Sauce
Short pasta tossed in a glossy, tangy mayo sauce loosened with starchy cooking water, with flaked tuna and sweetcorn stirred through. A fast, protein-heavy one-pot dinner.
- Total
- 15 min
- Prep 3 · Cook 12
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Emulsifying · Cooking al dente
- Savory
- Quick
- Stovetop
- Oven
Instructions
-
Bring 1500 ml water to a rolling boil in a large pot over high heat. Add 0.5 tsp salt and the 100 g pasta. Cook until al dente, about 9 minutes, stirring once so the pasta does not stick.
~9 min
Salting the water seasons the pasta from within, and a rolling boil keeps the pieces moving so they cook evenly without sticking.
Cooking al dente Cook until the pasta is tender but still firm to the bite, with a faint white core when broken. Start checking 1 minute before the package time to avoid mushiness.
-
While step 1 cooks
While the pasta cooks, drain the 80 g tuna and the 80 g sweetcorn thoroughly. Put both in a mixing bowl with 2 tbsp mayo, 1 tsp olive oil and 0.25 tsp black pepper. Stir with a fork until evenly combined.
~3 min
Draining tuna and sweetcorn prevents excess liquid from making the mayo sauce watery and thin.
Flake the tuna with a fork rather than mashing it so it stays in tender pieces instead of turning to paste.
-
Scoop out 3 tbsp of the starchy pasta cooking water and stir it into the tuna mayo mixture a spoonful at a time until the sauce turns glossy and coats the back of the spoon.
~1 min
Starchy pasta water contains gelatinized starch that emulsifies the mayo into a glossy, clingy sauce.
Emulsifying Add starchy water a spoonful at a time while stirring; the sauce should turn glossy and coat the back of the spoon. Adding too much at once makes it thin and broken.
-
Drain the pasta in a colander, then tip it back into the warm pot. Add the tuna sweetcorn sauce and toss over low heat for 1 minute until every strand is coated and the sauce clings. Serve immediately.
~1 min
Tossing over low heat warms the sauce so its fats coat each piece without splitting or turning oily.