Two Years Ago: Pork Tenderloin with Port and Dried Cherry Sauce
I love a tuna sandwich with mayonnaise, but making it with heart-healthy olive oil is a better option and more authentically Mediterranean. The Italian flavors continue in this sandwich with sun-dried tomatoes, chopped Kalamata olives, capers, lemon and fresh thyme. The lemon and thyme really shine through every bite, with the other ingredients adding pops of flavor.
An advantage of substituting olive oil for mayonnaise is that you can make the sandwich in advance and don't need to worry if it sits out for a little while at work or on a picnic, plus it's lower in calories. You could also serve the tuna salad in a hollowed-out tomato or over greens if you want to cut even more calories.
As a direct result of making this particular meal I have one word of advice. When you open your tuna cans (or any other cans, for that matter), carefully stick the lids back into the cans with no jagged edges protruding before you put the cans in the trash, preferably upside-down. Not that I would ever fail to follow such a simple safety precaution.
Italian Tuna Sandwich
Serves 4
4 sun-dried tomatoes
¼ cup onion, minced
1 rib celery, chopped
¼ cup pitted Nicoise or Kalamata olives, chopped
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
Juice of ½ lemon
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
12 ounces solid white albacore tuna in water, drained
Salt and pepper
Leaf lettuce
4 slices Cheddar cheese (optional)
4 Kaiser or other sandwich rolls
Cover the sun-dried tomatoes with hot water in a
bowl. Set aside until soft, about 20
minutes, then drain, chop and place in a medium bowl. To mellow the minced onion, soak in cold
water for 10 minutes, then drain well, pat dry, and add to the tomatoes.
Add the celery, olives, capers, olive oil, lemon zest and
juice, and thyme leaves to the bowl and mix well. Add the tuna, breaking it into chunks with a
fork, then toss everything together gently so you don’t break up the tuna
chunks. Season to taste with salt and
pepper. To serve, place a leaf of
lettuce on each sandwich roll bottom and top with tuna salad, optional cheddar
cheese, and the sandwich top. Squeeze
the sandwich together gently. If not
eating immediately, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
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