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This months NEW recipes -

May
1a Take 1 tin - Tuna .png
Take 1 tin meals – Tuna
This month’s meals are all made using something most of have and always take for granted in our storecupboard tinned tuna. So, this month we have few ideas that aren’t with mayo in a jacket potato or made into a pasta salad.
8 Tuna and broccoli pasta bake
5 Tuna & caper butter
7 Cheat’s coconut rice poké bowl
4 Tuna empanada pie
6 Simple tuna Bucatini
3 Tuna & sweetcorn slice
2 Tuna sweetcorn burgers
1 Easy tuna salad pot

Easy tuna salad pot

Serves 1,

  • 100g/3½oz cooked and cooled brown rice

  • 1 carrot, peeled and coarsely grated

  • 4 cherry tomatoes, halved

  • 100g/3½oz tinned tuna steak, drained weight

  • 1 large handful mixed salad leaves

  • 2 tbsp mixed seeds, such as sunflower, pumpkin, linseed and sesame

  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • For the desk-drawer dressing

  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

  • 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

 

  1. To make the dressing, put the vinegar and olive oil into a clean jam jar or kilner jar. Add a tiny pinch of salt and some pepper and shake together until well combined. (You can keep this dressing for up to a week – it makes enough for five servings.)

  2. Put the rice into a sturdy glass or plastic jar, or lidded container.

  3. Top with the grated carrot and tomatoes.

  4. Flake the tuna on top of the vegetables and season with pepper.

  5. Top with mixed leaves and then sprinkle with the seeds.

  6. Cover and keep chilled until ready to serve (up to 24 hours).

  7. Give the dressing a good shake and drizzle 1 tablespoon over the salad. Toss everything lightly together and serve either in a bowl or in the jar.

 

Recipe tips

You’ll need around 40g uncooked wholegrain rice to make 100g cooked rice.

You can use the sachets of microwave rice, which are very convenient but more expensive.

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Tuna sweetcorn burgers

Serves 4, Kcals 262, Fibre 1g

  • 85g white bread

  • torn into pieces

  • 198g can sweetcorn, drained

  • 2 x cans tuna in water, drained well

  • 25g grated cheddar

  • 3 spring onions finely chopped

  • 1 egg beaten

  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil

  • wholegrain bread

  • rolls, lettuce, salsa, to serve

 

  1. Whizz the bread in a food processor to crumbs, tip into a bowl, then whizz half the sweetcorn until finely chopped. Add the chopped corn, remaining whole corn, tuna, cheese, spring onions and some seasoning into the bowl with the bread and mix well. Add the egg, bit by bit (you may not need it all), until the mixture is sticky enough to be shaped into four even-size burgers.

  2. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan, then cook the burgers for 5 mins on each side until golden and hot through the middle. Stuff into wholemeal buns with your favourite lettuce and a good dollop of salsa.

2 Tuna sweetcorn burgers.png

Tuna & sweetcorn slice

Serves 4, Kcals 463, Fibre 1g

  • 320g pack ready-rolled puff pastry

  • 185g can tuna, in spring water, drained and flaked

  • 325g can sweetcorn, drained

  • 3 tbsp crème fraîche

  • 50g cheddar, grated

  • a few chives snipped to 1cm lengths

 

  1. Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/ gas 7. Lay the pastry out on a baking sheet. Pinch up the edges to form a border, pressing firmly into the corners. Prick the centre all over with a fork and pop in the oven for 10-15 mins.

  2. Meanwhile, mix the tuna and sweetcorn in a bowl and season.

  3. Remove the pastry from the oven, pressing the centre down with the back of a fork, as it will have puffed up a bit. Spread the crème fraîche across centre, spoon the tuna mix on top, then sprinkle over the cheese. Bake for 10-15 mins more, until golden, puffed up and cooked though. Sprinkle with chives and cut into quarters.

3 Tuna & sweetcorn slice.png

Tuna empanada pie

Serves 6, Kcals 537, Fibre 5g,

  • 1 tbsp olive oil

  • 1 onion, finely chopped

  • 1 garlic clove, crushed

  • 3-4 medium potatoes cubed

  • 2 carrots, diced

  • 2 red peppers, diced

  • 1 tbsp smoked paprika

  • 1 tsp each dried oregano and thyme

  • 2 tbsp tomato purée

  • 300ml vegetable stock

  • 185g can tuna, in spring water, flaked

  • 500g pack shortcrust pastry

  • 1 egg, beaten

 

  1. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Fry onion, garlic, potatoes and carrots in oil for 5 mins until softening. Add peppers, paprika, herbs and tomato purée, and cook for 5 mins.

  2. Add stock, bring to the boil, then simmer until stock is absorbed and vegetables are tender. Add the tuna.

  3. Roll a quarter of the pastry into a 22cm circle. Roll remaining pastry to line a 22cm loose-bottomed tin, allowing the pastry to come over the edges of the tin.

  4. Fill with the tuna mix and top with the pie lid. Brush the edges with egg then fold over the sides and press down with a fork to seal. Make two holes in the top, brush with egg and bake for 35-40 mins until golden brown. Leave to cool slightly, then serve.

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Tuna & caper butter

Serves 4, Kcals 110, Fibre 0g

  • 2 anchovies, from sustainable sources

  • 1 tablespoon capers

  • 2 x 185g tins of tuna in olive oil

  • 210g butter

 

  1. Chop the anchovies, and drain the capers and tuna.

  2.  Blend in a food processor with the butter until smooth.

  3. Serve with Italian flatbreads or crispbread.

5 Tuna & caper butter.png

Simple tuna Bucatini

serves 2, Kcals 734, Fibre 4.3g

  • 200g bucatini pasta (you can use spaghetti or linguine)

  • sea salt

  • 1 large clove of garlic, peeled

  • 1 fresh red chilli

  • 2 anchovy fillets

  • 4 ripe cherry tomatoes

  • extra virgin olive oil

  • 1 x 180g tin of quality tuna, in olive oil

  • 1 tablespoon baby capers, rinsed

  • juice from ½ a lemon

  • 100g wild rocket, washed

 

  1. Anchovies and tomatoes are a match made in heaven in this summery pasta dish – with tuna and a zesty hit of lemon thrown in, you will love it!

  2. Cook the bucatini in a large pan of boiling salted water until al dente. Meanwhile, finely slice the garlic and chilli, then roughly chop the anchovies and tomatoes. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil (use the oil from the tin of tuna for added flavour, if you can) in a frying pan over a medium heat, then add the garlic, chilli, anchovies and capers. Fry for 2 minutes, then add the tomatoes and toss well.

  3. Reserving some of the cooking water, drain the bucatini and add to the sauce. Toss well over the heat until lovely and glossy, adding a splash of the cooking water to loosen, if needed. Flake in the tuna, then add some lemon juice and most of the rocket. Toss well to warm the tuna through and wilt the rocket, then season carefully with salt and more lemon juice. Serve with a drizzle of oil, and a scattering of the reserved rocket.

6 Simple tuna Bucatini.png

Cheat’s coconut rice poké bowl

serves 4, Kcals 504, Fibre 1.8g

  • ¼ of a cucumber

  • 3 tablespoons Japanese rice vinegar

  • 5 tablespoons mirin rice wine

  • ½ a bunch of fresh coriander

  • 1 citrus fruit, such as lemon, grapefruit, lime

  • 2 tablespoons tamari or dark soy sauce

  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil

  • 2 x 250g pack microwavable jasmine or long-grain rice

  • 1 x 160ml tin of coconut cream

  • 2 sheets of nori

  • 2 x 160g tins of tuna in spring water, from sustainable sources

  • 1 ripe avocado

  • 2 spring onions

  • 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

 

  1. Finely slice the cucumber, place in a colander over the sink and toss with a large pinch of sea salt.

  2. Leave for 10 minutes, then squeeze to remove the excess moisture. Mix with 2 tablespoons of the rice vinegar and 1 tablespoon of the mirin.

  3. Finely chop the coriander stalks, reserving the leaves. Measure 2 tablespoons of your chosen citrus fruit juice (save the rest for another day) and mix with the stalks, tamari or soy sauce, sesame oil and 2 tablespoons of mirin, then set aside.

  4. Cook the rice according to the packet instructions and pop in a bowl with the coconut cream and the remaining 2 tablespoons of mirin. Mix well, season and cover with tin foil to keep warm.

  5. Toast the nori in a dry frying pan over a medium-high heat for 1 to 2 minutes on each side until crisp. Leave to cool before cutting into small pieces with a pair of scissors.

  6. Drain the tuna, peel, destone and dice the avocado, and trim and finely slice the spring onions.

  7. Divide the warm rice between bowls, top with tuna, avocado and the pickled cucumber. Scatter with the nori, sesame seeds and spring onion, tear over the coriander leaves, then drizzle over the dressing to finish.

7 Cheat’s coconut rice poké bowl.png

Tuna and broccoli pasta bake

Serves 4, Kcals 425, Fibre 3.3g

  • 200g dried short pasta shapes, such as fusilli or penne

  • 250g small frozen or fresh broccoli florets

  • 40g butter

  • 40g plain flour

  • 600ml semi-skimmed milk

  • 75g mature cheddar

  • salt and freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 x 185g tinned tuna in water or brine, drained

  • 2 firm, ripe tomatoes, sliced (optional)

 

  1. Half-fill a large saucepan with water and bring it to the boil. Add the pasta, return the water to the boil and cook according to the packet instructions until just tender. Just before the end of the cooking time, add the frozen broccoli florets to the pan and cook with the pasta for the final 2-3 minutes, until just tender.

  2. Meanwhile, heat the butter, flour and milk in a saucepan over a medium heat until the mixture is just bubbling, whisking constantly with a balloon whisk until smooth and thickened to a roux.

  3. Continue to cook the roux for a further 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly until it has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir in half of the cheese until melted, then season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

  4. Preheat the grill to its highest setting.

  5. Drain the pasta and broccoli in a large colander and transfer to a pre-warmed shallow ovenproof dish (a lasagne dish is ideal). Flake the tuna on top of the pasta and broccoli.

  6. Pour the cheese sauce over the pasta mixture, then top with the sliced tomatoes, if using. Sprinkle over the remaining cheese.

  7. Place the pasta bake under the hot grill for 4-5 minutes, or until the cheese melts and starts to turn golden-brown. Serve immediately.

 

Recipe tips

Warm the lasagne dish by half-filling it with just-boiled water and letting it stand for 5 minutes - it will help to keep the food keep warm as the crust grills.

Making the cheese sauce using an all-in-one method makes it quicker and more foolproof – but make sure you whisk it constantly to avoid lumps. A silicone-coated whisk will not damage non-stick pans.

This recipe can also be made ahead - just cook the pasta bake in a preheated oven at 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7 for 18-20 minutes until heated through.

8 Tuna and broccoli pasta bake.png

Designed by AME solutions

Your Plan ...Your Way - 44U

Devised by Ann-Marie Edmunds

from First Taste Nutrition www.first-taste-nutrition.com

No reproduction without prior permission -

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