African Vanielje on Aug 24 2007 at 10:52 pm | Filed under: Uncategorized
No matter how much of a dedicated foodie you are, there will be days when cooking is out of the question. Sad but true, and the alternative, to make reservations, rather than dinner is not always a viable option. These are the days when a tin opener can be your best friend. No don’t turn up your nose, even Angela Hartnett says all she wants at the end of a service is a packet of crisps. You can’t dine every meal on a diet of michelin stars.
I always try and keep an emergency storecupboard stash for just such days. For my daughter it is pasta and a good organic bottled tomato sauce. It’s easy enough to add herbs, veggies, bacon, anchovies etc… For Rory, it needs to be something a little more substantial.
Now he’s not particularly fond of legumes, wholegrains and anything that looks like it might belong in a vegan recipe (in other words, anything that stores well) – so I was quite surprised when I made an at home version of a Tuscan Tuna Salad Dakota had liked in a local cafe, and he raved about it. That version was made with fresh tuna and home cooked beans, but for a store cupboard version, tinned tuna and organic tinned beans can be just as tasty.
The result, a very substantial salad that takes minutes to make, can be eaten warm or cold, and is seriously healthy and delicious. No need to make any apologies for this one. Repeat after me: ‘I’m tinned and I’m proud’.
Of course, the fresh tuna version is simply scrumptious too, and as long as you’ve had a chance to visit the fishmongers I would go for this option, and keep the tinned version in your little bag of tricks, for emergencies.
This salad is perfect served with fresh pitta breads. I didn’t have a chance to make them today, but you can always make these in advance and freeze them, defrosting in the fridge overnight and gently refreshing in a warm oven. Mmm…magic.
My Tuna Niscoise
- Scrub some new potatoes and put them on to boil
- In a separate pot, bring some water to the boil for eggs.
- Rinse a tablespoon of salted capers and then allow to stand in cold water for 5 minutes
- Make a basic lemon dressing with 60ml fresh lemon juice:180ml extra virgin olive oil, some fresh ground black pepper and maldon salt, and some fresh chopped chives
- Blanche a handful of green or runner beans in the egg water (before you put the eggs in of course). lift out with a slotted spoon while they are still bright green (before they go khaki green or grey – yeeugh!). Rinse under cold water to stop them cooking further
- Bring the water back to the boil and add 2 large free range eggs. Boil for 4 1/2 minutes for soft or 5 minutes for hardboiled.
- Chop the green beans into a bowl
- Add chopped tomatoes. I used a mixture of cherry and little sungolds from the garden
- Add the capers and toss in the lemon dressing – allow to sit and infuse
- At this stage the tomato and bean salsa can be served on its own, or as an accompaniment to barbecued fish, lamb or beef.
- Finely chop a small red onion and put in a separate bowl
- Open a can of organic butter beans ( this is your chance to bond with your tin opener)
- Drain and rinse and add to the onions
- Drain a tin of dolphin friendly tuna and add to the bowl
- Add some pitted green queen olives (optional if you have the capers)
- Drain the eggs and rinse them under cold water to peel
- Cut into quarters lengthways if hardboiled. If soft, reserve for the moment
- Drain the potatoes and arrange them on your plates
- Crush them slightly with a fork so they can soak up the juices
- You now have two choices – mix the tomatoes and tuna or add it to the salad in layers
- Tuna, beans and olives first, followed by tomatoes
- Top with the egg quarters, or break open the soft boiled eggs on top of your salad.
- Drizzle with any extra lemon dressing and season
If you are using fresh tuna, season your tuna and briefly pan fry to colour on the outside but be rare in the middle
Toss the butter beans and olives in with the potatoes, layer on the tomato salsa and top with your tuna steak
Drizzle on extra lemon dressing, or even better, a homemade lemon and herb mayo (chive or basil)
Enjoy
comfort food eh??
must admit after a hectic dinner service at the restaurant.. the only thing I want to eat is a bowl of muesli or oat flakes with cold milk..
nice recipes!
Rice pudding does it for me Ritu. Delicately spiced with star anise, or flavoured with orange flower water and cloves. I also eat it cold for breakfast, especially after a late service the night before. My chefs always used to make sure to keep me a bowl when it was on the menu.
I used to have a restaurant in London for many years.. I miss it. I think London is the true Gastronomical capital of the world.
which part of England do you work in?
BTW I love rice pudding, specially our indian way of doing it.. but can’t eat much of it since I am a diabetic, but still once in a while I get a craving for it and prepare it with splenda. We make it Cardamom, safron threads, and slivers of almonds and pistacchio.. GF and I always argue whose mother does a better rice pudding.. Sigh she wins hands down my mum actually cannot cook to save her life
Never mind Ritu, at least one of your mums cooks good rice pud. I live in Somerset, which is in the South West. I don’t know about gastronomical capital, but we do seem to have God’s own pantry right here for the picking. Amazing artisan chhese producers, free range farmers, organic veggies, apples etc. I used to live in London too, and while I still visit occasionally, I don’t miss it.
Isn’t it actually fun to create a meal from the pantry like that? I, too, keep certain canned and frozen “go-to” items on hand for those occasions when I am not in the mood to cook, or to go to the market. Your salad looks scrumptious.
Thanks Passionate Palate. it was scrumptious. And easy, and yes fun. Everything that food should be.
i don’t miss london as a city but yes do miss the food resources, and the restaurants.
i know somerset.. yes u do have god’s own pantry out there..