Odette Williams' Weeknight Wonder Rigatoni

Recipe by Odette Williams

Serves 4

Cook Time 20-30 mins

This Weeknight Wonder Rigatoni with Tuna, Fennel, Lemon & Olives is a fresh and flavorful pasta dish from Odette Williams' Simple Pasta cookbook. Perfect for a quick, yet elegant weeknight meal.

This Recipe Features:

Fishwife Albacore Tuna

$32.00

This Weeknight Wonder Rigatoni with Tuna, Fennel, Lemon & Olives is a fresh and flavorful pasta dish from Odette Williams' Simple Pasta cookbook. Perfect for a quick, yet elegant weeknight meal.

This Recipe Features:

Fishwife Albacore Tuna

$32.00

Ingredients

• Weeknight Wonder Rigatoni with Tuna, Fennel, Lemon & Olives
• Find more delicious pasta recipes in Odette's new cookbook, Simple Pasta: Pasta Made Easy. Life Made Better.
• Store-bought pasta: 14 ounces dried rigatoni, penne, farfalle, garganelli
• 1 lemon
• 1⁄4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1 cup
• 1 small fennel bulb, shaved or thinly sliced
• 3 shallots, finely diced
• 5 garlic cloves, slivered
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, coarsely chopped
• 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tins of Fishwife Albacore Tuna
• 1⁄3 cup pitted green olives, halved
• 4 cups loosely packed baby arugula
• Shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano for serving

Directions

Peel the lemon, avoiding the white pith, and slice the peel into thin slivers. Juice the lemon and set aside.
In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, salt, and 1 tablespoon olive oil and stir to incorporate. Add the shaved fennel and set aside to marinate. In a large heavy-bottomed frying pan over medium-low heat, warm 1⁄4 cup of the olive oil, then add the shallots and sauté for about 4 minutes. Turn the heat to very low; stir in the remaining 3⁄4 cup olive oil, lemon peel slivers, garlic, fennel seeds, and red pepper flakes; season with black pepper; and gently infuse for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the tuna and olives and warm through, breaking apart the tuna with a fork.
While the olive oil is infusing, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, according to package instructions. Using a large spider or slotted spoon, transfer the pasta to the tuna mixture. Add the arugula and about 1⁄2 cup of the pasta water to the mixture and stir gently to combine. Serve the pasta with the marinated fennel and Parmigiano.
TIP Substitute a couple tablespoons of the tuna oil for the extra-virgin olive oil if you want to double down on the tuna flavor.