Tuna Sweetcorn Pasta Salad
Short pasta tossed with flaked tuna, sweetcorn and red onion in a lemony mayonnaise dressing. A cold, protein-rich lunch that comes together in one pot.
- Total
- 15 min
- Prep 6 · Cook 9
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Cooking al dente · Emulsifying
- Savory
- Quick
- Stovetop
- Oven
Instructions
-
Bring a medium pot of water to a rolling boil, add 0.5 tsp salt and the 100 g pasta, and cook until al dente, about 9 minutes or 1 minute less than the package says.
~10 min
Salting the water seasons the pasta from within and raises the boiling point, helping it cook evenly to al dente.
Cooking al dente Cook until the pasta still has a slight firm bite at the centre, then drain at once. The common mistake is boiling past that point, leaving it soft and mushy.
-
While step 1 cooks
While the pasta boils, peel and finely dice the 0.25 red onion. Cut the 0.5 lemon in half and squeeze 1 tbsp juice into a small bowl, catching any pips.
~3 min
-
While step 1 cooks
Add the 2 tbsp mayonnaise, 1 tsp olive oil, 0.25 tsp salt and 0.25 tsp black pepper to the lemon juice and stir with a fork until smooth and pourable.
~2 min
Whisking the mayonnaise with lemon juice and oil thins it into a pourable emulsion that coats every piece evenly.
Emulsifying Whisk the lemon juice gradually into the mayonnaise so the fat and acid bind into a smooth, pourable dressing. If it looks split or greasy, add a few drops of water and whisk again.
-
Drain the pasta in a colander and rinse briefly under cold running water until it stops steaming, then shake off the excess water.
~2 min
Rinsing under cold water halts cooking instantly and removes surface starch so the dressing clings instead of turning gluey.
Rinsing the pasta under cold water stops it cooking and washes off surface starch, so the mayonnaise clings as a dressing instead of turning gluey.
-
Tip the drained pasta into a bowl, add the 80 g canned tuna flaked with a fork, the 60 g sweetcorn and the diced red onion, then pour over the dressing and toss until every piece is coated.
~2 min
Flake the tuna with a fork rather than mashing it, so you keep distinct pieces of fish rather than a paste.
-
Taste and add a pinch more salt and black pepper if needed, then serve straight away while the onion is still crisp.
~1 min