(ARA) - Looking for recipe ideas that are easy to follow, inexpensive and relatively guilt-free too? Try incorporating an American household favorite -- canned tuna!
For something a little different that promises to please guests and family, Bumble Bee provides some delightful, recipe ideas made with canned tuna’s new gold label Prime Fillet. Keep this gourmet quality solid white albacore tuna ready in the pantry for parties, unexpected guests or family get-togethers. Then, whip up an affordable gourmet-style meal that will have your guests convinced you’ve prepared something truly elaborate and extravagant. As an added bonus, they will enjoy canapés or entrées that are delectable, but without those serious calories.
Specially developed by two of California’s leading chefs, here are recipes that demonstrate how canned tuna is no ordinary ingredient.
* Mediterranean-Style Rigatoni Pasta with Prime Fillet Albacore
Recipe by Chef de Cuisine Fabrice Poigin, Bertrand at Mister A’s, San Diego
This simple and flavorful pasta dish with a Mediterranean flair is ideal whether sitting down to dinner with the family or celebrating with guests. Chef Fabrice suggests complementing this with a glass of 2001 Spottswood Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc. Serves 4.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
4 ounces unsalted butter
1 large sweet onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 red bell peppers, deseeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 vine ripe tomato, diced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
A sprig of rosemary
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 small jar of Spanish olives (green olives stuffed with pimientos), drained
2 6-ounce cans of Bumble Bee Prime Fillet Solid White Albacore, drained
1/2 pound rigatoni pasta
1 tablespoon thinly sliced chives
Dry aged parmesan, grated
Pinch of crushed red hot pepper flakes (optional)
Directions: Bring water to boil in a large pot according to package directions in preparation for cooking the rigatoni pasta. Heat 2/3 of the olive oil and 4 ounces of unsalted butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat until nearly hot but not smoking. Add diced onions and cook for approximately 5 minutes until soft. Add diced red bell peppers, reducing to low-medium heat and cook until peppers are soft. Add diced tomato, minced garlic and 1/3 teaspoon of rosemary sprig leaves. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
Cover and cook over low heat for another 10 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of dry white wine and simmer for 5 minutes. Then, add drained whole olives and Bumble Bee Prime Fillet tuna in solid pieces to sautéed mixture. Cover and cook until tuna is heated through (approximately 3 to 5 minutes).
Cook the rigatoni pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water according to the package directions or until al dente. Drain the pasta in a colander, leaving behind a little moisture. Toss the pasta, tuna sauce and water, then place in a serving dish or on individual plates. Drizzle remaining olive oil over the top and garnish with thinly sliced chives and grated dry aged parmesan. Top with a pinch of crushed red hot pepper flakes, if you prefer a little more bite.
* Delicate, Festive Albacore Tuna Canape
Recipe by Chef de Cuisine Fabrice Poigin, Bertrand at Mister A’s, San Diego
An easy-to-follow, elegant-style canapé for entertaining guests or just treating yourself to a unique way of serving up albacore tuna! Serves 6 to 8.
Ingredients:
1 6-ounce can of Bumble Bee Prime Fillet Solid White Albacore, drained
2 finely diced shallots
1 tablespoon chives, thinly sliced
1 soup spoon crème fraiche
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Sourdough bread (optional)
3 ounces of comté cheese or aged white cheddar, sliced thinly
Extra crème fraiche for garnish (optional)
1/2 ounce domestic caviar (optional)
Chervil sprigs (optional)
Directions: Mix together Prime Fillet tuna, shallots, chives, crème fraiche, and salt and pepper. Spoon mixture onto toasted triangles of sourdough bread or into Chinese ceramic serving spoons. Top each serving mixture with a slice of cheese and place in a pre-heated oven (300 degrees) until cheese begins to melt -- approximately 3 minutes. Remove toasties or Chinese spoons from the oven and top individually with a dot of crème fraiche, and then a dot of caviar (optional). Finish with a sprig of chervil to garnish.
* Prime Fillet Albacore Tuna and Potato Casserole
Recipe by Chef Gerald Hirigoyen, owner and executive chef, Piperade and Fringale Restaurants, San Francisco
Recognized in Food & Wine magazine’s 2003 Top Ten Best New Wine Lists, Chef Gerald suggests complementing this entrée with a glass of 2001 Turnbull Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc. Serves 4.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup olive oil
2 large onions, thinly sliced
4 medium Anaheim chilies, seeded and thinly sliced
2 bay leaves
8 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered
1 cup dry white wine
3 cups vegetable stock or canned vegetable broth
6 to 8 saffron threads
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 mild dried chili pepper
4 6-ounce cans of Bumble Bee Prime Fillet Solid White Albacore, drained
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Pinch of piment d’Espelette (Basque chili pepper) or mild cayenne powder
Directions: Warm 1/2 cup olive oil in a large casserole over high heat. Add onions, Anaheim chilies, bay leaves, and garlic and sauté for 10 minutes. Add the potatoes, wine, vegetable stock, and saffron. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to medium. Add salt, pepper, and dried chili pepper, and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Add the tuna and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes, or until warmed through. Stir only occasionally to avoid breaking apart the fish. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Discard the bay leaves before serving. Serve in shallow soup bowls, and sprinkle with the parsley and piment d’Espelette.
Look for Bumble Bee Prime Fillet’s upside-down gold can in most supermarkets nationwide. For more information on Bumble Bee, visit www.bumblebee.com.
Vegetables add colour, taste, texture and bulk to our
daily diet. There are dozens of different vegetables that can be prepared
in literally hundreds of ways. So what's best?
There is no best. The thing to do is to eat your
vegetables, lots of them, everyday in a wide variety of ways and stop
worrying about the preparation methods. Variety is the key...
Raw
Many vegetables taste fabulous just the way they are
straight out of the garden. Lettuce, tomato, celery, cabbage, onion,
radish, carrot are obvious choices here. But they are just as likely to
find themselves next to chopped up broccoli, cauliflower, peas, beans and
zucchini on a starter platter with dips. Wash 'em, chop 'em and eat 'em.
Oh, yeah, you could also make a salad!
Steamed
Steaming heats the vegetable and softens it's texture.
It's gentler than boiling and allows the vegetable to maintain it's colour
if not overdone. Use a stainless steel steamer that will fit into most
good size sauce pans. Make sure you use a pan with a tight fitting lid.
There should be enough water to just touch the bottom of the steamer.
Water should be simmering the whole time the vegetables are being cooked.
Boiling
Boiling vegetables is really going out of fashion, but
it's a legitimate preparation method! The big concern is loss of
nutrients. All cooking methods result in the loss of some goodness from
the vegetables. If boiling, try to find a way to use the water the
vegetables have been boiled in (i.e. to make a gravy or sauce) to bring
those nutrients back to the table. Vegetables should be barely covered
with water. Bring the water to a boil (covered) then slow to a simmer
until vegetables are tender.
Microwave
Very popular for vegetables as it retains colour, flavour
and nutrients. Trial and error will be your guide with microwaving as
there are plenty of variables involved. However, a few guidelines will
help...The more food you put into the oven, the longer it will take to
cook. Underestimate your cooking time rather than overestimate.
Undercooked food can be cooked some more. Over-cooked food is ruined. Food
straight from the fridge will take longer to cook than that at room
temperature. All food continues to cook after it has been removed from the
microwave oven. It is part of the cooking process and should be taken into
account to prevent over-cooking.
Stir Fry
Very rapid method of quick frying vegetables, meat
(optional) and sauces in one pan to make a meal. Primarily associated with
Asian cooking. The key to doing this well is preparation. All items to be
cooked should be chopped to a size that will allow them to cook quickly in
the wok. It is also important that the wok is heated to a high, consistent
temperature throughout. Vegetables maintain their colour and crispness
with this sort of cooking (if not overdone).
Baking
Brilliant! Especially for those 'root' vegetables like
potatoes, turnip, carrot and beetroot. Chop into similar size pieces,
brush lightly with olive oil and put in a hot oven to roast. Size of the
pieces will determine the cooking time but expect at least 40 minutes.
Outside is chewy, inside is moist and fluffy. Dress with sour cream and
chives. Yum!
Barbeque
Does anything scream summer like the word barbeque? Love a
barbeque. This is primarily open flame cooking, so could apply to a
campfire as well. Cooking outside just changes everything about food.
You'll need foil, fire and fresh veggies. Grease your foil, chop your
veggies and put the closed packages on the grill. Be adventurous, it's
really hard to mess this up!
Judy Williams (http://www.no-dig-vegetablegarden.com)
splits her time between being a media executive and an earth mother
goddess. No Dig Vegetable Gardens represents a clean, green way to grow
your own food. The site covers all aspects of growing, cooking and
preserving your harvest.
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