I was trying to use up some miscellaneous produce and other refrigerated odds and ends when a light bulb went on in my head. The tuna base is adapted from a recipe in Biba Caggiano's "Italy al Dente," Spaghetti with Spicy White Tuna Sauce, that I've made dozens of times over the last few years. Why I never before noticed the overlaps between its building blocks and those of pasta puttanesca is a mystery to me. A quick note: If you're going to add the white beans, do so at the very end of cooking, just long enough to heat through. You don't want the sauce to thicken more than it already is, nor do you want the beans to get overly mushy.

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