May 15 2021
Pasta with Tuna (or Salmon), Lemon & Capers
Lemons
This versatile pasta can be made in a flash – with a few store-cupboard ingredients plus fresh parsley and lemon – and is a real crowd-pleaser.
This versatile pasta can be made in a flash – with a few store-cupboard ingredients plus fresh parsley and lemon – and is a real crowd pleaser.
Simply use canned tuna or salmon, or a vacuum packed smoked salmon fillet.
If you really want to push the boat out, buy fresh salmon fillets and bake them at maximum temperature for eight minutes.
For some kick, add finely chopped red chilli. Goes beautifully with parmesan for those who don't abide by the fish/cheese rule.
Pasta with Tuna (or Salmon), Lemon & Capers
Prep time: 5 minutes + pasta cooking time
INGREDIENTS
1 x 500g packet De Cecco spaghetti or farfalle (or your preferred dried pasta, cooked al dente to packet instructions)
huge bunch of flat-leaf parsley, washed, stems removed, finely chopped
handful of capers, rinsed
juice and zest of 2 lemons
1/3c olive oil
fish – 1-2 cans tuna or salmon (drained – in oil or spring water) or 1-2 filets of salmon (smoked or cooked)
salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
Place into a large shallow serving dish the chopped parsley, lemon juice and zest, olive oil, capers, flaked fish, seasoning and chilli if desired.
Add the cooked pasta and toss to distribute. Top with Parmesan if desired.
NZ LEMONS
We offer two different varieties of lemons, the Meyer and the Yen Ben.
The Meyer lemon is the most commonly grown lemon in New Zealand. A soft fruit with high juice content, it is a cross between a lemon and mandarin.
Smaller than other lemons, Meyer lemons also have a smoother, thinner skin, and darker yellow pulp.
What’s special about this variety is the sweeter taste - they pack far less of a tangy punch than other lemons. Take a whiff of a Meyer lemon and compare it to any other kind - you’ll find that Meyer lemons have a unique, slightly spicy scent.
Our first lemon growers were Brian and Dianne Williams – we first spotted them right across the road from our house - globes of gold ripe for picking.
Brian grows lemons exclusively, they are his passion and he pours all of his skill as an orchardist (not to mention his magic homemade seaweed fertiliser) into growing the very best Meyer lemons.
The Yen Ben lemon is regarded as a ‘true’ lemon.
It is lighter in colour then a Meyer and more tart in flavour. It has a smooth, thin skin, a high level of acidic juice and few pips.
Also known as a Lisbon lemon, it originated in Queensland, Australia during the 1930s. It caught the attention of New Zealand fruit researchers in the mid 1970s, resulting in the planting of a large number of trees.
Lemons are used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world, primarily for their juice and zest. They make such a difference to food’s flavour and are used so often in cooking that they are considered almost indispensable.
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