Spaghetti with Tuna & Green Olive Pesto

Coarse sea salt

3/4 cup firmly packed medium-sized pitted green olives

1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup broken walnut pieces

1 garlic clove, roughly chopped

5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 pound spaghetti

1 lemon

1 (5 oz) can of tuna in water

Freshly ground black pepper

Freshly grated Parmigiano - Reggiano cheese for serving

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of a food processor, combine olives, basil, parsley, walnuts, garlic and pinch salt; blend until finely chopped. With machine running, add 3 tablespoons oil in a slow stream. Blend, scraping down sides once, until smooth and well combined. Set pesto aside.

Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente. Reserving 3/4 cup pasta cooking water, drain pasta, transfer to a large serving bowl and immediately toss with remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Add pesto and half of the pasta cooking liquid to bowl; toss to combine. Zest lemon over pasta, add tuna and toss to combine. Add more pasta cooking liquid to moisten pasta, if desired. Season pasta with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately with cheese for sprinkling.


Number of Servings: 4

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user CAREBEAR5218.