It’s funny how things come together.
There I was, in the kitchen, testing recipes for haricots verts, when I thought, Hmm, what about making a little Salade Nicoise for dinner? I’d already cooked the haricots verts, had the olives, and found this great can of tuna packed in olive oil, too. So I opened it up. I was ready.
Then, just as suddenly, I wasn’t. I needed coffee. I was tired of chopping. Tired of roasting. The idea of washing potatoes, then cutting them up, parboiling them, and putting them back in the oven seemed overwhelming.
The can of tuna was open. I had to do something with it.
I remembered that I had a new loaf of Poilane bread.
I decided that I’d make tuna fish sandwiches – no, I’d make tartines, the Frenchy, open-faced sandwiches — and because I’d cut back on the bread by one slice, I’d reward myself (!) with a batch of brownies. Oh yes, that’s what I’d do, I thought, shooing kitchen fatigue out the door like an Amway salesman.
I put my tuna and olives in a bowl, and added some chopped up sundried tomatoes, some basil, and some capers — all of my favorite things. Then, for good measure (and because I’d just made some), I drizzled some basil oil over it all, mixed it together, and put it in the fridge for a half-hour.
When X came back from walking Rose, I toasted up a couple slices of bread, spooned out the tuna, added some arugula, and drizzled a bit more basil oil on top.
Fabulously easy. Delicious.
Then we had brownies.
Mediterranean Tuna Tartines
Makes 2
INGREDIENTS
160 gram (5.64 oz) can tuna in olive oil, drained
4 sundried tomatoes, chopped in slivers
6 Kalamata olives, halved lengthwise
1 teaspoon capers, drained
2 leaves fresh basil, chopped
pepper
2 tablespoons basil oil, recipe follows
handful arugula
2 pieces country bread, toasted
WHAT YOU DO
Put drained tuna, sundried tomatoes, Kalamata olives, capers, and basil in bowl and toss to combine. Add basil oil, give the pepper mill a couple of cranks, and taste. Serve on toast with a heap of arugula, and drizzle a bit more basil oil on top.
Basil Oil
INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon basil, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
⅓ cup olive oil
sea salt
WHAT YOU DO
Put first 3 ingredients in a jam jar, and shake. Salt and pepper to taste. Let sit for an hour, at least, before using. Will keep for a week or two in the fridge.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
The basil oil sounds fantastic, and I love tuna with olives!
I love your king of math. One slice of bread instead of two? Why, yes, of course that equals a brownie as a reward. And… This sounds delicious.
Morning! Thanks for stopping by! Glad you were able to connect with my dad. I really enjoy the anecdotes on your blog, and I’m excited to try some of the recipes. I think that some of your Mexican food substitution suggestions might be helpful to me – and I will certainly let you know when I’m in Paris. It’s cheap from Tel Aviv so it’s in the works for sure.
Yum-o-licious. Sounds like a great combo of flavors and textures packed into one beautiful sandwich. I did an open faced grilled tuna sandwich today too as a feature for a local on line magazine and my blog.
Amy
And what about the recipe for the brownies?? Forget tuna when you can have chocolate!