Spicy Tuna with Caper Pasta Salad

Good news! It was only 90 degrees today!! Sunny with scattered puffy white clouds. Glorious. It was cool enough to cook (only 85 inside my apartment) when I got home from work! After mentioning the spicy tuna and caper pasta the other day, I have been craving it. And since Kyle and I only cook for a meal together once or twice a week (hooray for opposite schedules!), I figured making a leftover-friendly dish would be beneficial for the both of us.

Since I have never written this recipe down until now, it is always just slightly different. Lucky for all of us I really enjoyed the version I made today! This is a pretty classic pasta salad with the mayo dressing. Great for feeding those cravings of deli salads and church potlucks, but I think it is MUCH tastier than those with lemon, capers, Sriracha hot sauce, and lots of garlic :)

Spicy Tuna and Caper Pasta Salad

If Kyle and I have one understanding,
it is that there is no such thing as "too much garlic". 

1 lb Penne Pasta, uncooked (I prefer whole wheat pasta)

1c mayo

1 generous TB whole-grain dijon (I LOVE the whole mustard seeds!)

1 TB (or to taste) Sriracha hot sauce

2 TB capers, rinsed and chopped

5 cloves garlic, pressed 

1 TB lemon juice

2 cans high-quality tuna packed in water, drained

1/2 c onion (red, white, or green) finely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Boil the pasta as directed on the package in salted water until fully cooked and al-dente. Drain and cool. In the meantime combine mayo, dijon, Sriracha, capers, garlic, lemon juice in a large bowl. Depending on your tolerance for garlic, salt and pepper, adjust to fit your taste. Add tuna, taking care not to pulverize the chunks of tuna (bigger chunks are always a treasure to find in your bowl). Once the pasta has cooled for a bit and is not dripping with water, add to your sauce along with the onions. Stir to evenly coat your pasta, and taste! Adjust seasonings to your taste.

This recipe is really flexible to fit personal taste. If you hate spicy things, forget the hot sauce and up the lemon for a lemon-caper tuna pasta salad. Add some dill or chives from the garden (my herbs are working on getting over the heat we just made it through). However you eat it, make it yours. That is the fun of it all!

Bon Appetit!

-Annie