Review: Tuscan Tuna Sandwich-CL 4/07

[sneezles]

First I have to admit to this be more an Epicurious review but I believe if I had all the right ingredients it would have been even better!:p I eat tuna everyday, 1/2 can in the morning and the other half in the afternoon. Usually I just eat it plain mostly because it's only 2 oz and I'm just eating it because I need to.

I ran across this recipe while reading the current issue at breakfast yesterday morning and thought it sounded very tasty. Well, I wasn't going to the store for just a fennel bulb and some basil leaves so I improvised. I liked it so well that I made it again today. I hope to buy the fennel and basil next time I'm at the store though. Also served it on field greens with grape tomato halves, toasted slivered almonds, dried cherries and crumbled feta...all very yummy!

Here's the recipe with my changes in italics:

Tuscan Tuna Sandwiches
From Cooking Light

Chopped fennel bulb, fresh basil, and capers lend this speedy, no-cook supper vibrant Italian flair. Toasted bread adds a nice texture, but it's an optional step. You can serve sandwich with baked potato chips.

1/4 cup finely chopped fennel bulb(I toasted fennel seeds and then ground them)
1/4 cup prechopped red onion (I had red onion that I had to chop myself;) )
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (used a large pinch of dried)
2 tablespoons drained capers
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (out of lemons so used 1/4 tsp salt-free lemon pepper seasoning from Penzey's)
2 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil (reduced by half)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 (6-ounce) cans solid white tuna in water, drained(used no-salt added tongol white)
1 (4-ounce) jar chopped roasted red bell peppers, drained(roasted my own orange bell)
8 (1-ounce) slices sourdough bread, toasted(didn't use)

Combine chopped fennel, red onion, 1/4 cup basil, capers, lemon juice, olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, tuna, and bell peppers in a bowl, stirring well. Spoon 1/2 cup tuna mixture on each of 4 bread slices. Top each serving with 1 bread slice. Cut each sandwich in half diagonally.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 sandwich)

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 292(31% from fat); FAT 10g (sat 1.6g,mono 5.6g,poly 1.7g); PROTEIN 25.2g; CHOLESTEROL 36mg; CALCIUM 85mg; SODIUM 878mg; FIBER 3.3g; IRON 2.4mg; CARBOHYDRATE 24.3g

David Bonom
Cooking Light, APRIL 2007

[LakeMartinGal]

Looks good both ways! How much of the dried fennel seeds did you use?

[sneezles]

Looks good both ways! How much of the dried fennel seeds did you use?


I didn't measure but I'd guess about 1/4 tsp after it was ground but I was only making half a recipe each time.

[manetta]

I have been on a major tuna kick lately. This will definitely be lunch next week. Thanks for the review! :)

[foodfiend]

sneezles -- do you think this would be good on pasta?

[WhitneyB]

This sounds like a good change for tuna. I'll give it a try! Thanks!

[sneezles]

sneezles -- do you think this would be good on pasta?

If you mean as in a cold pasta salad then yes! Add in some kalamatas and I think it wound be wonderful!

[jtoepfert100]

For some reason, I missed this one in the latest issue. I love tuna! Thanks for posting.

[alicerh]

I love this one from Rachael Ray. I use canned tuna instead of the fresh

Rachael's Tuna Pan Bagnat

1 French baguette
1 six to eight-ounce tuna steak
1 bay leaf
5 whole peppercorns
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons capers, drained
1/4 red onion, chopped
1 can artichoke hearts in water, 15 ounces, drained, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup good quality black olives, from bulk bins in deli area of market
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley, a couple of handfuls
Coarse black pepper, to your taste
2 to3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, to your taste

* To get the juices flowing, place whole lemon in microwave on high for 10 seconds.
Crisp baguette in hot oven, then cool to handle. Cut baguette in half lengthwise, on an angle, then split each half lengthwise.

Put about 1 inch of water, the bay leaf, peppercorns, and juice of 1/2 the lemon into a small skillet and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add the tuna steak, cover, and simmer until cooked through, about 4 minutes. Remove tuna from the water and allow to cool. Place tuna in a bowl and separate with a fork. Add capers, red onion, artichokes.


Add olives and parsley to tuna mixture. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon into the bowl. Squeeze lemon halves holding cut side upright, allowing juice to spill over sides. Add black pepper to the bowl and drizzle salad liberally with evoo, extra virgin olive oil. Toss tuna salad and adjust pepper and evoo to your taste. Pack the tuna salad on to baguette halves and set tops in place. Press down to set the bread and salad together. The bread will absorb the evoo and salad juices -- YUMMY! Cut each half baguette in half again, making 4 sandwiches, total.

Notes: The longer pan bagnat sits, the tastier it gets. I make a whole baguette, even for just myself. In less than 24 hours, after a late night trip or two to the fridge, I can finish the whole loaf off! Also, This recipe is picnic-perfect! One last tip: wrap the sandwich in wax paper, peeling it back as you eat the bagnat. The wrapping over the end of each sandwich will catch the juices as you eat it.

[sneezles]

Okay, I made this for lunch again today and found that fresh is best! Loved it with the fennel bulb and the fresh basil! I did use home roasted orange bells again but I wouldn't change that since I much prefer them to jarred. I was out of lemons because I used the last of them to make those cupcakes on Sunday...totally forgetting that I bought them for this recipe!:rolleyes:

[dneilson]

Sneezles...thanks for taking time to post your experience with this salad. I had a fennel bulb sitting in my refrigerator drawer for over a month. (I'm amazed at the good condition it's still in!). I just finished and added the chopped fennel, capers, lemon juice, drained tuna, salt & P & olive oil... it's refrigerating for tomorrow's dinner when I will complete it w/ roasted peppers, red onion and basil (I'm out of those). Am grateful for a wonderful use of the delicious fennel bulb (forgot why I bought it in the first place).

Thanks for sharing!

Dolores

[jtoepfert100]

I made this over the weekend pretty much as sneezles did except I had fresh basil and fresh lemon juice (but also added lemon-pepper just for kicks). Maybe I should have used the entire 2 tbsp of olive oil instead of halving it, but mine is pretty dry and not altogether as flavorful as I would have hoped. I'm thinking of combining the leftovers with a bit of pasta and maybe even some low-fat mayonnaise to rescue it. It may be that I just prefer mayonnaise-based tuna salads but I don't think I'll be repeating this one.

[sneezles]

Jen,
I eat tuna straight out of the can on most occasions so dry wasn't a problem with me. This second time I did use all 2 tbs but didn't really notice any improvement in the dryness.

[jtoepfert100]

Jen,
I eat tuna straight out of the can on most occasions so dry wasn't a problem with me. This second time I did use all 2 tbs but didn't really notice any improvement in the dryness.

I typically eat it straight out of the can, too, so I don't know what my problem was. I actually wonder if it was the type of tuna I used. I've bought this kind before with no problem but it seems strange that with all of those ingredients, the recipe would turn out bland.