Creamy Tuna Pesto Pasta

I was craving for Tsoko-nut's Spaghetti Jardinero this afternoon. To my dismay, they have replaced it with "Malunggay Pesto Pasta" and I wasn't feeling very adventurous.

But I couldn't shake off the pesto craving so I rummaged around my cupboard and found a package of McCormick Pesto Pasta Mix. I tweaked the simple recipe a bit and came up with something .. well.. less simple. (Hehe... it's not that gourmet, okay... still a beginner here. So excuse the non-culinary language I might have used) The recipe at the back of the pack simply mixes the pesto mix with some oil and water and pasta. Here's my version which totally surprised me :-)



Ingredients:

1 pack McCormick Pesto Pasta Mix
2 fat cloves of garlic, crushed/finely chopped
3-4 "pinches" of Maggi Magic Sarap (optional)
6 tbsp oil (I used olive oil)
1 cup all-purpose cream (I used the new Nestle D-Lite Soy Cream with zero transfat! this might have a big impact on the taste, :-)
1/4 cup water
1 can tuna, drained (1/2 I used in the sauce, 1/2 I used as garnish/ topping, I used Century Tuna chunks in water)
Parmesan cheese
Pasta, cooked according to package instructions (I used San Remo fettuccine)

How to:

1. Saute chopped garlic in 2 tbsp oil until slightly browned. Add half the tuna and toss. Add some Maggi Magic sarap if you want :-)
2. Pour in the rest of the oil (you should have the remaining 3tbsp!) , water and the cream. Gradually add the Pesto mix while stirring until ingredients are mixed well.
3. Mix thoroughly until warmed, do not boil.
4. Toss in the right amount of pasta (I'm sorry I 'm not sure about the proportions .. but based on my judgement and appetite -- the sauce can drench up to 5 servings )
5. Top pasta with the leftover tuna, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese to taste
6. Serve and enjoy!

I served myself (home alone tonight.. boohoo. But that means less dishes to wash, hehe.) and happily satisfied my pesto craving! Sorry I couldn't share a nicer photo of my Tuna Pesto because my photo is blurred and now it looks like an unappetizing blob. But believe me, it looked and tasted better "in pasta" than in the photo. (defensive!)