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What to do with canned fish and seafood
Canned fish can be a great source of nutrition, especially when cost and shelf life are a concern. Find out what to do with canned fish and seafood to make it taste great. Types of canned fish and seafood Without a doubt, the most common fish in a can is tuna, but there is a decent variety of fish and seafood available in canned form: Nutrient composition In general, canned fish and seafood are great source of protein and long chain omega-3 fatty acids. Some varieties also contain high amounts of zinc (e.g. oysters), calcium (e.g. salmon and sardines) and iodine (e.g. mussels and oysters). The graphs below contain a…
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Recipe: Niçoise salad
Niçoise salad, or salade niçoise is a classic French dish quite popular worldwide. It originated in the city of Nice, in the Southeast coast of the country. There are several ways of making niçoise salad and I won’t claim mine is the right one (especially because I’ve never been to France!!). My recipe is simple, cheap, nutritious and delicious. Salade niçoise is naturally gluten-free, dairy-free, high in protein and moderate in carbohydrates. It’s also pretty filling thanks to the protein, fibre and healthy fats including omega-3 from the tuna and monounsaturated fats from the olives and extra virgin olive oil.
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Recipe: My mum’s tuna croquettes
Another mum recipe! Tuna croquettes (“croquetas de atún”) was a weeknight dish that was on a semi-regular rotation at our house. I always looked forward to the next time we’d have them. Mum served the croquettes with a lot of rice and some veggies: green beans, peas and carrots that were first blanched in water and then fried in butter. I would always add a big dollop of tomato sauce on my rice. No wonder I was a fat kid! I’m not complaining but this was the hardest mum’s recipe for me to re-create because she did not give me even a remote approximation of quantities. I do know she…
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Product review: Safcol tuna pouches
Safcol produce a large percentage of the canned fish available in Australia. Their tuna is wild caught using sustainable fishing practices. Canned tuna is a cheap and convenient source of protein. When bought in brine or springwater is low in fat, some of which is in the form of anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids. Apart from the traditional cans, Safcol has recently launched a new line of tuna pouches. As the package reads, these are a good addition to salads, sandwiches, wraps and pasta (they also mention pizza but I’m not to sure about that one…) Pros Compact, light and portable No need to drain Some varieties contain very few healthy…
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Recipe: Ají de atún with lupin flakes
Ají de atún is a lesser-known version of the traditional Peruvian chicken stew ají de gallina. It uses canned tuna instead of chicken, which makes it cheaper and easier to prepare. This dish was in semi-regular rotation at my aunties’ so I assumed it was fairly common, but it turns out Alvaro had never heard of it. I haven’t asked where they got the recipe from but I bet it came from the Nicolini cookbook. Ají de atún is normally made with white sandwich bread and evaporated milk. I could have used gluten-free bread but decided to go one step further and make the dish more nutritious by using lupin…
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Recipe: Tallarines blancos con atún (pasta with white sauce and tuna)
Tallarines blancos con atún is one of the dishes that were in rotation at my aunties’ but I never got sick of it. In fact, it was one of my favourites. Sadly, I never got the original recipe from auntie Sumi. This is my best attempt to approximate the dish using my taste memory and the current family recipe.
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Recipe: Two dips with CO YO
As promised, here’s a recipe featuring the wonderful coconut yoghurt CO YO. Serve with cucumber slices, on top of salad greens, or however you prefer.
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Recipe: Atún playero (beach tuna)
More than a recipe, this is a memory. When I was a little girl, my dad took us to the beach every single Sunday in summer (from December 21st to March 20th – he’s extremely punctual). My mum was, as always, in charge of food. She packed a big container full of tuna sandwiches and two huge soft drink bottles (a Coke and a Inca Kola because tastes in the family were divided). Once in the beach, between swimming and sun-bathing, they bought us snacks: some sort of sweet tuile-like cylinders, delicious natural fruit ice pops (I usually got mango, my sisters and mum loved the coconut ones) and/or regular…
