June 24, 2015
The inspiration for this tuna dip came when reading Mediterranean Summer, a memoir of a young American chef, David Shalleck, working aboard the yacht of a wealthy Italian family as they sail through the Mediterranean. My friend Hunter gifted me my copy (thank you!) and I can attest it’s a great summer read for any food lover.
As David travels through these gorgeous locales he both hones his kitchen skills and makes huge self-discoveries. Limited kitchen space, obstacles aboard the ship and with the crew made for wonderful stories and recipes.
His adventures found their way into my kitchen, like this tuna dip. This dip is a winner in your summer rotation because of its versatility. You can spread it on grilled toast or a cracker topped with fresh seasonal veggies. Stuff into a cherry tomato as a bite sized appetizer or simply serve it with potato chips.
I strayed from the recipe a bit; blame it on my aversion to having to clean the food processor. There’s no fancy equipment needed and there’s a good chance most of these ingredients are already in your pantry or fridge.
The smoked soy sauce is a new addition to my pantry. My friends at BLiS gave me a bottle of the BLiS Smoked Soy Sauce. If you can’t track down smoked soy sauce, feel free to substitute with regular soy sauce and just omit the smoky part of the name when you go to serve.
Full disclosure, even though I get products from many companies, I promise you I will only blog about things I love and use regularly.
Julie Robles helped me tinker with these tartines. Aren’t they beautiful? Julie is a much-loved houseguest, we love for her to stay as long and as often as she wants to stay! This is the line-up from left to right:
Tuna, avocado, chopped red onion, garbanzos, feta, lemon and parsley
Tuna, avocado, red and yellow tomato, green onions and microgreens
Tuna, cucumber, watermelon radish, parsley and lemon
Tuna, thinly shaved yellow squash, radish, cucumber, finely chopped red onion and microgreens
1- 5 oz. can Italian oil packed tuna, drained
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
¼ teaspoon finely chopped anchovy
2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
1 ½ teaspoon Bliss smoked soy sauce or regular soy sauce
2 teaspoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of cayenne
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
In a medium bowl combine the tuna, anchovy, and butter until fully incorporated. Stir in the rest of the ingredients (except for the parsley) until smooth. Before serving, fold in the chopped parsley and sprinkle with a little paprika. Serve with potato chips or crackers and /or crunchy vegetables.
To make the cherry tomato appetizer:
For a fresh summer appetizer just slice 1/3 of the tomato off and scoop out the seeds with a small teaspoon. Slice the tiniest bit off the bottom to keep the tomato from rolling around. Spoon in the tuna dip. Garish with thinly sliced green onions.
