Thursday, September 20, 2012

Different Post (Tuna Melt)

I know that I normally blog about restaurants and places that I eat, rather than what I eat at home, but this post is something a little different. With the weather cooling off, I have been hungry for something a little warmer, yet something that can be made rather quickly (as the last thing we want to do after a long day of work and a hard workout is spend an hour smelling food before its ready to eat). If you are looking for something warm and salty after a long workout on a cold day, then you may want to give this Rachael Ray tuna sandwich a try.

This recipe was introduced to us this past spring by my wife's friend who kindly brought us this meal after my wife's ACL surgery. We loved it so much that my wife asked for the recipe and has made it multiple times since then. She has made some different variations of the below recipe, and I have to say that my favorite involves swapping out the ciabatta for some Farm to Market pretzel bread buns. The soft pretzel bread, lightly toasted, combined with the savory tuna, salty capers, creamy melted cheese, and wonderful arugula is sandwich perfection. (Pictured to the right with Spinach-Cucumber-Feta Salad tossed with Tasso's Greek dressing)

Please post feedback regarding whether or not you would like an occasional awesome recipe post on here, along with the awesome restaurant reviews, or if I should just stick to eating out. Below is the recipe and nutritional info for the sandwiches. My wife also uses buns instead of loafed ciabatta and broils the sandwich in the oven (open faced), rather than using a panini press. Be adventurous and make it your way, because I always say "Eating is equal parts food and adventure".

Ingredients:

2 (5 5/8 ounce) cans good quality tuna, drained
1 (14 ounce) can water-packed artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/4 cup sun-dried tomato, thinly sliced
1/4 cup black olives, sliced
3 tablespoons capers, rinsed
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
2 large shallots or 1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 cup baby arugula
1 large lemon
olive oil, for liberal drizzling
pepper
1/2 lb deli-sliced provolone cheese
1 loaf ciabatta, split lengthwise horizontally

Directions:

1. Heat panini press or cast iron skillet for pressing sammy.
2. If using a skillet, you will need another heavy skillet to press with or a brick, wrapped in foil.
3. Flake tuna in bowl. Add chopped artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, capers, parsley, shallots and arugula.
4. Dress with lemon juice and liberal drizzle of oil.
5. Mix to combine salad thoroughly, season with pepper to taste.
6. Arrange half of the cheese, overlapping the slices, on the bottom half of ciabatta.
7. Top with salad in even layer then arrange remaining cheese and top with bread.
8. Cut the loaf into 4 sections and press a few minutes to melt cheese and heat through.

Nutrition Facts:

Serving Size: 1 (294 g)
Servings Per Recipe: 4

Amount Per Serving
% Daily Value
Calories 399.0

Calories from Fat 183
46%
Total Fat 20.4 g
31%
Saturated Fat 10.9 g
54%
Cholesterol 69.5 mg
23%
Sodium 964.1 mg
40%
Total Carbohydrate 20.0 g
6%
Dietary Fiber 7.7 g
30%
Sugars 2.7 g
10%
Protein 38.1 g
76%

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