My tuna salad sandwiches

My husband and I are not people who swap meals for sandwiches very often – we do like our rice and beans, soups, pasta dishes, and now Joao has some serious competition on my Bolognese sauce, since my 2 ½ year-old nephew loves it as much as Joao does. <3

However, when burgers or tuna salad sandwiches are involved we are happy to have sandwiches for lunch or dinner, and more recently, the sardine rillette has become part of that small list. I did not imagine my husband liked tuna salad sandwiches until the day I made this recipe, which I have been making for over 20 years. He went crazy for the tuna salad and it instantly became part of our favorite things to eat on lazy weekends.

This tuna salad goes very well with all kinds of bread – including the soft rye bread I posted a while ago – but I find it very important to have the slices toasted if the kind of bread chosen is not very sturdy: it prevents the sandwiches from getting soggy.

My tuna salad sandwiches
own recipe

1 can of tuna preserved in water (120g/4oz drained weight)
1 carrot (about 100g/3oz) peeled and coarsely grated
1 small onion, finely diced*
handful of fresh flat leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
½ cup green olives, pitted and chopped
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oli
2/3 cup mayonnaise – homemade is even better
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Drain the tuna very well, then transfer to a large bowl and flake it with a fork. Mix in the carrot, onion, parsley and olives. Drizzle with the olive oil and mix well. Mix in the mayonnaise, season with salt and pepper and serve immediately with your favorite kind of bread.

* this recipe is delicious too if you replace the onion with celery

Makes 5-6 sandwiches using regular, white bread

Pesto pasta and tuna “meatballs”

My grandmother is a very creative cook – sometimes, too creative.

A friend of mine from school once had lunch at my house and told grandma that the breaded fish was delicious, to what granny replied “oh, sweetie, thank you! But that is not fish – it’s banana skin”. :D

After that story I bet that tuna “meatballs” sound perfectly normal to you. :D

Pesto pasta and tuna “meatballs”
adapted from Australian Gourmet Traveller

Meatballs:
2 x 185g cans tuna, drained
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoon chopped chives
¼ cup pine nuts
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 egg
1 tablespoon olive oil

Pasta and sauce:
400g spaghetti
¼ cup pesto sauce
¾ cup (180ml) heavy cream
finely grated parmesan and fresh basil, to serve

Place tuna, breadcrumbs, parsley, chives, pine nuts, lemon zest and egg in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until combined. Roll tablespoons of the mixture into balls. Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan over high heat. Add the tuna meatballs and cook, turning, for 2-3 minutes or until golden. Keep warm in the oven.
Cook pasta in a saucepan of salted boiling water until al dente. In the meantime, add the pesto and cream to the saucepan you cooked the meatballs in (remove excess oil if necessary) and heat over medium heat. Drain the pasta, add the sauce and toss gently to combine. Top with the meatballs, sprinkle with parmesan and basil leaves and serve.

Serves 4 – I halved the recipe above, used 1 ½ packed tablespoons of mixture per meatball and got 12 (I used the whole egg and the mixture was easy to roll into balls)

Tuna and potato salad with anchovy dressing

Even though it was published here I’m a vegetarian, that is not true – I don’t eat red meat, but like poultry and love fish.

This salad is very simple, but the dressing takes it to a whole new level.

Tuna and potato salad with anchovy dressing
from Donna Hay magazine

600g kipfler potatoes, cleaned and halved
1 tablespoon olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 roma tomatoes, sliced
¾ cup basil leaves
425g (15oz) can tuna in oil, drained

Anchovy dressing:
3 anchovy fillets, chopped
1/3 cup red wine vinegar – I used ¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 200°C/390°F. Place the potatoes in a baking dish, add the oil, salt and pepper and toss to combine. Roast for 45 minutes or until golden.
Make the dressing: place the anchovies, vinegar, oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl and whisk to combine (the anchovies will melt). Set aside.
Toss the potatoes with the tomatoes, basil and tuna. Drizzle with the anchovy dressing and serve.

Serves 4

Creamy tuna and chickpea salad

During the holidays we tend to go a little over with all the eating and drinking: I know I get carried away with making the food and end up eating more than I should. And kudos to those who can control themselves – God knows I’ve tried to be one of them, but got to the conclusion that it’s never gonna happen. :)

Lucky me I also love salads and they are perfect for our tropical Xmas – this is a very quick and simple idea, from DH's website.

Creamy tuna and chickpea salad
from Donna Hay magazine

¼ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons lemon juice
salt and cracked black pepper
1 x 400g can chickpeas (garbanzos), drained and rinsed*
2 x 185 g cans tuna in olive oil, drained
1 spring onion, finely sliced
2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped if too large
80g arugula leaves
olive oil
flatbread, to serve

Place the mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a bowl and stir to combine. Add the chickpeas, tuna, spring onion and parsley and toss to combine. Drizzle the arugula with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and place it by the creamy salad.
Serve with crispy flat bread or toasted sourdough croutons. Alternatively, wrap in flatbread or lavash for a portable meal.

* I soaked 1 cup dried chickpeas overnight and cooked them for 40 minutes

Serves 2