Chilli Tuna Spaghetti with Lemon and Spinach

Tuna Spaghetti with Chilli, Lemon and Spinach is a surprisingly light and refreshing dish perfect to whip up on those hot summer nights. This picture just doesn't do the dish justice. It's really quick to cook and very tasty. Once you try it, you'll be going back for seconds. Total cooking time is 15 minutes. Serves 4.

Ingredients:

• 1 x packet of gluten free spaghetti (250 grams)
• 1 x tin of Tuna in Brine (425 grams)
• Sambal Oelek
• 4 Shallots (finely chopped)
• 4 small lemons (or 2 large)
• 1/2 a pack of fresh baby spinach
• Salt & Pepper
• Olive Oil

Method:

• This is a very simple and quick dish to prepare as you are only heating the ingredients through and adding them to the cooked pasta.
• Fill a large saucepan with 3 litres of hot water and place on the stove to boil. Add a liberal splash of olive oil to the water and place the lid on the pot. (Water boils faster with the lid on).
• Open the tin of tuna a add it and the brine to a small pot which is on a medium to low heat.
• Add 1 heaped desert spoon of Sambal Oelek paste to the tuna. (This may seem like a lot of chilli, however the heat of the chili is reduced by the addition of the lemon juice which leaves the flavour of the chillies to circulate through the dish).
• Check to see whether the pot of water is boiling. As soon as it does, add the packet of gluten free spaghetti. #
• Finely chop 4 stems of shallots and add to the tuna.
• Cut four lemons in half and put them in a bowl. Then pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds. (warm lemons produce more juice).
• Squeeze the lemons in to the bowl. Remove any seeds then add the lemon juice to the tuna mix.
• Place 1/2 a pack/bag of baby spinach in a food processor or blender. Add a splash of water and then blend the spinach leaves. ~
• Add the spinach pulp to the tuna.
• Stir all the ingredients well, then reduce let the tuna simmer on the stove until the pasta is ready to be served.
• When your pasta is al dente' drain it and tip it straight back in to the pot. Add the tuna pasta to the larger pot and mix the tuna through the spaghetti.
• When well mixed tip your tuna spaghetti in to a medium sized bowl for serving.

Notes:

• # Gluten free spaghetti does tend to clump together in boiling water. A simple way to avoid this is to snap the dried spaghetti in to thirds while it is still dry and in its packet. The pasta can then move more freely through the boiling water and mix with the olive oil. (Don't try this around traditional Italian cooks as snapping pasta is guaranteed to upset :-)).
• ~ Processing the spinach in a blender is actually optional, but for effect it brightens up the entire dish giving it a pesto appearance.