Recipes with Tuna

Today we are talking about tuna and recipes with tuna. Who doesn't have tins or jars with tuna in oil in their pantry? I think we all have them in the house and sometimes we don't use it because in its natural state it is obvious and we don't like it very much.

Tuna in oil has many beneficial properties: first of all, it is fresh, light, ready-to-eat, has a long shelf life and being a food generally eaten cold is very suitable in summer. Moreover, it is an inexpensive source of omega-3 fatty acids, which help prevent cardiovascular diseases and keep blood pressure and triglycerides under control. Moreover, as is well known, omega-3 has beneficial effects on memory and mood.

So here is a series of recipes for preparing tuna that everyone will love and will make you finally use up all those tins.

Appetisers

Tuna-filled eggs

Ingredients for 4 people

• 4 eggs
• 1 tablespoon pickled capers
• 2 salted anchovies
• 150 grams of tuna in oil
• 50 grams of butter
• the zest of half a lemon
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation of the tuna-filled eggs

First remove the butter from the fridge to let it soften at room temperature. Boil the eggs, let them cool, cut them in half and remove the yolk. Pass the capers under running water to remove the salt, remove the bones from the anchovies. You will now need a blender to obtain a homogeneous mixture.

Then put the drained tuna into the blender together with the anchovies, capers and lemon zest. Blend everything together. Work the softened butter into a bowl and mix it with the tuna, then add the hard-boiled egg yolks. Mix the ingredients very well until you obtain a mousse; add freshly ground pepper.

With this mixture fill the hollow of the hard-boiled eggs, which can be garnished with green salad, chives or capers. Refrigerate until serving at the table. The mixture with which we have filled the hard-boiled eggs can be used for crostini and canapés, which will still be inviting.

Croutons with tuna mousse in oil

Ingredients for 4 persons

• grams 180 drained tuna in oil
• grams 100 of fresh ricotta
• 2 anchovy fillets
• 1 teaspoon capers
• juice and zest of half a lemon
• oregano to taste
• 8 toasted bread croutons

Preparation of croutons with tuna in oil mousse

Also in this recipe, the mix is used to blend the ingredients. First, however, rinse the capers under running water to remove the salt, wash the anchovies very well and remove the bones. In the blender put the drained tuna, anchovies, capers, fresh ricotta, the juice and zest of half a lemon and a pinch of oregano.

Blend everything well until a smooth and fluffy cream is obtained. Place the mousse in a bowl, cover with cling film and let it rest for at least half an hour in the fridge. The mousse is now ready to be spread on bread croutons for an inviting and mouth-watering appetiser.

First courses

Spaghetti with tuna and courgettes

Ingredients for 4 persons

• grams 400 of spaghetti
• grams 250 of courgettes
• grams 200 of tuna fillets in oil
• a few date tomatoes 5 or 6
• half a small onion
• salt, pepper and olive oil to taste

Preparation of spaghetti with tuna and courgettes

Fry the finely chopped half onion in a frying pan with a little olive oil. When golden brown, add the washed and thinly sliced courgettes and the halved date tomatoes. After a few minutes, add the well-drained tuna fillets. Adjust the salt and pepper. Let everything cook for two or three minutes to let all the ingredients mix well. Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in plenty of salted water. Remove them just before they are al dente and toss them in the pan with the sauce. If the sauce is a little dry, add a few tablespoons of cooking water from the pasta. This pasta dish can be served either hot or cold.

Pasta with tuna sauce

Ingredients for 4 persons

• grams 400 of pasta (to taste)
• grams 180 of tuna in oil
• grams 400 chopped peeled tomatoes
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 teaspoon chopped parsley
• salt and pepper to taste
• grams 40 of olive oil
• a pinch of chilli pepper

Preparing pasta with tuna sauce

To start you can already put a pot with water on the stove to boil to cook the pasta, in fact the sauce is very quick to prepare. In a rather large frying pan put a little olive oil and the finely chopped clove of garlic. As soon as the garlic is golden, add the drained tuna in oil. Cook the tuna about 5 minutes, then add the chopped peeled tomatoes.

Let everything cook on a low heat for about 10 minutes and add a little cooking water from the pasta if the sauce tends to get too dry. Finally adjust the salt and pepper and add the chopped parsley. When the pasta is cooked, drain it and put it directly into the frying pan on the stove, leave it to take on flavour for a minute, stirring continuously, and serve hot.

Pasta with tuna in white sauce

Ingredients for 4 persons

• 400 g pasta (to taste)
• one medium onion
• 200 grams tuna in oil
• 1 teaspoon of lemon juice
• enough oil, salt, pepper and chopped parsley
• 1 pinch of chilli pepper

Preparing the pasta with tuna in white

In a fairly large frying pan, sauté the finely chopped onion with a little olive oil. As soon as it is golden brown, add the tuna, also chopped very finely with a little of the tuna oil. Also add the lemon juice and chilli pepper and cook for another 5 minutes. Adjust the salt and add the chopped fresh parsley at the end of the cooking time. Drain the pasta and toss it in the pan for a minute to mix well with the sauce, serve hot.

Main courses

Tuna meatballs

Ingredients for 4 persons

• grams 300 drained tuna in oil
• grams 50 of bacon
• 1 tablespoon capers
• 30 g grated Parmesan cheese
• 100 ml milk
• 1 egg
• grams 40 of breadcrumbs
• 1 teaspoon chopped parsley
• seed oil for frying
• salt, pepper to taste

Preparation of the tuna balls

First moisten the bacon with milk, when it is soaked, squeeze it out and chop it fine with your hands. Place it in a large bowl with the tuna, chopped capers, grated Parmesan cheese, egg, parsley and breadcrumbs, leaving a little for the final breadcrumbs.

Check the salt, mix everything well until a homogeneous mixture is obtained. Form into balls and roll them in the breadcrumbs. Fry the seed oil in a frying pan and when very hot, cook the meatballs for a few minutes. Pass the meatballs on kitchen paper to remove excess oil and serve either hot or cold.

Potato and tuna salad

Ingredients for 4 persons

• grams 400 of potatoes
• 300 g tuna in oil
• 2 hard-boiled eggs
• grams 200 of tomatoes
• 1 cucumber
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation of the potato and tuna salad

Boil the potatoes and when they are cooked, peel and cut them into possibly equal pieces. Peel and slice the hard-boiled eggs, also dice the tomatoes and chop the cucumber. Place the drained tuna in oil in a bowl and add all the ingredients, i.e. the potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes and cucumber.

Mix everything to flavour, season with salt and pepper and finish with a sprinkling of chopped parsley. Leave to rest in the fridge for at least half an hour. It lends itself very well to being prepared earlier, perhaps the day before and stored in the fridge. Ideal for picnics and summer dinners.

Courgettes stuffed with tuna in oil

Ingredients for 4 people

• three rather large courgettes
• 180 grams of tuna in oil
• 1 egg
• grams 50 of grated Parmesan cheese
• grams 50 of breadcrumbs
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• salt, pepper and olive oil to taste

Preparing the courgettes stuffed with tuna in oil

Wash and cut off the ends of the courgettes. Divide each courgette into 3 parts and hollow out the inside with a knife. In a bowl, place the inside of the courgette, finely chopped, together with the tuna in oil, Parmesan cheese, egg and chopped parsley. Add a drizzle of olive oil, season with salt and pepper and mix well throughout.

Finally, add breadcrumbs to the mixture to make it a little more compact. Fill the courgettes with this. Bake the courgettes in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for about 25-30 minutes. These courgettes prepared in this way can also be cooked in a casserole dish with tomato. In this case you need half a finely chopped onion to brown in a little olive oil.

When cooked, add 400 grams of tomato puree, salt, pepper and a pinch of chopped parsley. Let the tomatoes cook for about 10 minutes and add the courgettes at this point. If the sauce shrinks too much, add half a glass of water. Cook the courgettes in the tomato sauce for about 30 minutes, turning occasionally.