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Sicilian Fresh Tuna Meatballs with Pasta
5 from 82 votes

Sicilian Fresh Tuna Meatballs with Pasta

This Sicilian-inspired dish features fresh tuna meatballs prepared with finely chopped onion, mint, pine nuts, and lemon zest, served alongside pasta and a tomato sauce infused with garlic and basil. The tuna is carefully minced and mixed with breadcrumbs or pecorino to form tender meatballs, coated in flour, and fried to a golden finish, then simmered in a fragrant tomato sauce.

Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
30 mins
Servings: 4
Calories: 670 kcal
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mediterranean, Italian

Ingredients

For the tuna meatballs
  • 400 g tuna fresh
  • 1 onion (medium size or half a large one) peeled and finely chopped.
  • 1 egg
  • 3-4 tablespoon breadcrumbs or grated pecorino
  • 3-4 mint leaf fresh
  • 1 tablespoon pine nuts chopped
  • extra virgin olive oil for frying
  • salt to taste
  • black pepper to taste, ground
  • 2 teaspoon lemon use an organic lemon, zest
  • all-purpose flour to coat tuna meatballs
For tomato sauce
  • 500 g tomato passata 17oz) or 1.5 kg peeled sauce tomatoes (3.5 lbs, or chopped tomatoes
  • 10 basil fresh leaves
  • 2 garlic peeled, cloves
  • salt to taste
  • black pepper to taste, ground
  • 1-2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Pasta
  • 400 g pasta tubes (14oz) or spaghetti. I used genovesone from pastificio dei campi
  • salt for cooking water.

Instructions

Make the fresh tuna meatballs
    Cup of Yum
  1. Peel and finely chop the onion. Wash and chop the mint leaves. Grate the lemon zest. Chop the pine nuts.
  2. Cut the tuna first into slices (if it's one piece) and then into strips. Cut the strips into small pieces and then either mince in a food processor or chop with a knife like chopping parsley.
  3. Once you have cut all the tuna into small pieces, place it in a bowl and knead it a little with the back of a spoon so as to crush it a little more. (This isn't necessary if you used a food processor) Add a little salt to the tuna,  plus the chopped onion, chopped pine nuts, mint and the lemon zest.
  4. Mix everything and then add the egg and  breadcrumbs (or grated pecorino). Mix again.Best using your hands. Take a tablespoonful of tuna and work it with your hands into a round ball. Repeat until you have used up all the meatball mixture. The size isn't so important but try to make them all more or less the same for even cooking.
  5. Once all the meatballs are ready, take a frying pan and pour in enough olive oil to cover the bottom and start to heat the oil. Put the flour on a plate, roll the tuna meatballs in the flour and then fry them in the pan with the oil. Turn them so they brown on all sides. They don't need to be cooked through just browned. In this way, the surface of the meatballs will seal and your meatballs will remain soft while cooking in the sauce. When the meatballs are all browned transfer them to drain on some kitchen paper.
Cook the pasta
  1. Put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. Add salt once it starts to boil and bring tothe boil again. Cook the pasta al dente according to the instructions on the packet.
Make the tomato sauce
  1. While the water is boiling and the pasta is cooking make the sauce. Put a tbsp. of olive oil in a skillet or frying pan, add the two peeled cloves of garlic. Once they start to soften add the peeled tomatoes or passata/polpa.
  2. Dilute the tomato sauce with a cup of pasta cooking water, add the basil leaves and cook for about 5 minutes. (fresh peeled tomatoes make take longer to break down. passata or polpa are ready faster).
  3. At this point, add the tuna meatballs and cook them in the sauce for another 10 minutes, turning them halfway through cooking.
  4. Drain the pasta. Return it to the pan or put it in a warmed bowl. Mix it well with some of the tomato sauce. You want to coat the pasta with sauce. Then plate the pasta and add 2-3 fresh tuna meatballs and more sauce. Serve immediately.

Notes

  • Swordfish can be used instead of tuna or mixed with tuna for the meatballs.
  • Pasta tubes such as penne, ziti, paccheri, or mezze maniche can replace spaghetti as preferred.
  • The nutritional information includes the pasta component of the dish.

Nutrition Information

Calories 670kcal (34%) Carbohydrates 95g (32%) Protein 42g (84%) Fat 13g (20%) Saturated Fat 3g (15%) Polyunsaturated Fat 4g (24%) Monounsaturated Fat 5g (25%) Trans Fat 0.01g (1%) Cholesterol 79mg (26%) Sodium 152mg (6%) Potassium 1124mg (24%) Fiber 7g (28%) Sugar 11g (22%) Vitamin A 2966IU (59%) Vitamin C 17mg (19%) Calcium 86mg (9%) Iron 5mg (28%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 4 Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 670

% Daily Value*

Calories 670kcal 34%
Carbohydrates 95g 32%
Protein 42g 84%
Fat 13g 20%
Saturated Fat 3g 15%
Polyunsaturated Fat 4g 24%
Monounsaturated Fat 5g 25%
Trans Fat 0.01g 1%
Cholesterol 79mg 26%
Sodium 152mg 6%
Potassium 1124mg 24%
Fiber 7g 28%
Sugar 11g 22%
Vitamin A 2966IU 59%
Vitamin C 17mg 19%
Calcium 86mg 9%
Iron 5mg 28%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.