Tuna Caper Pate

Bit quiet on the blogosphere for the last week, as I wasn't well, but am fighting fit again, so today saw a bit of a cooking marathon.  This is a great storecupboard standby and great to top crostini or sippets of toast to accompany drinks, which is what we did before dinner.  So simple as well.  Simply blitz a tin of drained tuna (or a really good jar - go for the best you can afford, line caught of course!) with a couple of tablespoons of low-fat mayo, a couple of piquant little piquillo peppers from a jar, a finely chopped shallot, some lemon juice to taste and a handful of chopped flat-leafed parsley.  Stir in some salted capers - rinsed well - and pack into a bowl.  Will keep for a day or two and leftovers are great in sandwiches.

Tuna and Bean Salad [#242]

An easy lunch dish from Jo Pratt here, which made a nice change from sandwiches. Make a lemony mustardy vinaigrette, with the zest and juice of a lemon, some wholegrain mustard, salt, pepper and olive oil. Add a tin of drained and rinsed canellini or borlotti beans (we used Cirio brand, simply the best), a very finely sliced red onion, or some spring onion, a diced red pepper and a tin of drained tuna, flaked into chunks. Mix gently, taste and adjust the seasoning, and then add some finely chopped parsley. Scarcely a recipe, really.

Fresh Borlotti Salad with Focaccia [#143]

Well......OK, we don't live in Notting Hill or Florence, so the chances of getting fresh borlotti beans were well-nigh impossible. As a consequence, I used excellent tinned borlotti from Valfrutta - if you see them, then get them - they are steamed in the tin, so no gloopy liquid around them, and they have a wonderful texture. I gussied them up with a lemony parsley dressing, blanched green beans, onions and good albacore tuna from a jar, not a tin. I did make my own focaccia, however, using an amazing method where you leave a very wet dough with hardly any yeast in to rise in the fridge over 18 hours. Very nice, and lots left for tomorrow. I guess this was stretching Nigel's recipe almost to breaking point, but I think I am allowed after all this ruddy effort!

Bread and Tomato Salad [#134]

A rare warm day this summer, so we tackled one of the salad backlogs - as usual, I fiddled with this recipe - well, added to it really. I thought it was the Italian classic panzanella but Nigel toasted his ciabatta rather than soaking it in water, olive oil and chopped tomatoes, as the Italians would do. I also decided to roast the tomatoes and pepper, along with some onion and courgettes. This created a luscious mass which was spooned over watercress, topped with crunchy cucumber, some really good albacore tuna from a jar, marinated artichokes, black olives and basil. With a simple red wine vinegar and olive oil dressing, this was a fantastic, flalourful salad, full of colour and texture, and perfect for a warm - finally - summer's evening.