Tuna Sauce on Zucchini Pasta

Summer days on a plate

What a summer! Full of experiences which left little time for cooking and blogging. But cooler air and quieter days have returned and I am looking forward to pottering around in the kitchen again.

When times are as busy as they have been lately, this tuna pasta sauce is one of my go-to dishes. All the ingredients come straight out of the storage cupboard and it takes hardly any effort or time to throw together. As I try to get as many vegetables on my plate as possible I serve it on a tiny portion of spaghetti with a big pile of zucchini “pasta”.

The reason why this recipe is at top of my lists to share, is because it is a big thank you to my friend LL for the lovely visit I had with her in Italy at the beginning of the summer. This recipe (originally her mother’s) takes me straight back to the early years of our friendship:  she made this dish a few times before we went out for a night on the town.

Thank you L for all those long years of friendship…and this fab sauce recipe (and apologies if it is not quite the same as you taught me all those years ago) 🙂

Strolling through Cervia

Ingredients
Serves 1-2

1 onion
oil
1 clove of garlic
1 can of good quality tuna (I have to admit that using a tuna on a good olive oil tastes best but I tend to use tuna packed with only a few drops of water)
1 can of tomato
1/2 tsp vegetable stock powder / cube
chili flakes
salt, pepper
1/3 – 1/2 portion of whole wheat spaghetti
1 zucchini
optional: parmesan cheese

Recipe

1. Chop the onion. Fry in a saucepan in a little oil.
2. Squeeze in the garlic and fry until golden.
3. Drain and add the can of tuna.
4. Chop the tomatoes and add with the juice.
5. Season with stock powder, chili flakes, salt and pepper.
6. Allow to simmer, stirring once in a while.
7. Bring a large pot of water to the boil add plenty of salt.
8. Using a julienne peeler* cut the zucchini into strips.
9. Add pasta and cook.
10. 2 minutes before the pasta is done add the zucchini strips.
11. Sprinkle with parmesan shavings.

Tips

The only thing I use my julienne peeler for is to cut zucchini into pasta. Nonetheless I find it totally worth having. I love the fact that it lets me have all the joy of eating pasta with all the health benefits of eating vegetables.
If you do not have a julienne peeler, you can also use a regular peeler or knife to cut the zucchini into thin ribbons.

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Salmon and Roe Appetizer

 

Pure and simple

One day a year the Netherlands turn into an Orange on steroids, we call it Queensday. That is until today we called it that: this will be the last Queensday for at least a few decades with a new king taking the throne.

Queensday is not so much a celebration of the queen as an excuse for a great party: when I was a kid it was all about selling old junk on your doorstep. Then it became about joining the thousands of people on the streets of Amsterdam drinking way too many luke warm cans of beer. Nowadays the perfect Queensday is sitting at a friend’s window looking out on the mayhem, enjoying  a lovely glass of wine.

The food that I associate with Queensday has also changed over the years: First I remember eating half of the cake I was trying to sell by slice. Then there were years of greasy shawarmas, French fries and burgers. And now I am nibbling on a few delicacies that have nothing more in common with Queensday than that they are ….orange.

These salmon bites take no effort to put together and make a great appetizer for any celebration.

Small tip: as only part of the salmon filet is thick enough to cut it into beautiful even cubes, have another recipe handy for the remaining salmon. Have some Salmon Burgers for lunch, for example.

 

Ingredients
a piece of thick sashimi quality salmon
Fish roe ( I used orange for the occasion, but black roe gives a very sticking effect as well)
Spring Onions

 

Recipe

1. Cut the salmon into even cubes.
2. Place salmon onto serving dishes.
3. Top each piece with a dollop of roe.
4. Cut the green parts of the spring onion into oval slices.
5. Top each cube with a few onion slices.

 

Tips & Variations

You could prepare the fish in a soy sauce marinade for an Asian twist

Serve with

• Bubbles 😉

Gravlax

Enjoy gravlax with ease

Why are we so ready to believe that great results require great effort?

We live in a culture that tells us  that to achieve anything worthwhile, we have to work hard, to struggle and to fight. But I am beginning to feel that quite the opposite is true. There is no proof that struggle leads us to success.  Actually the focus on battling through life seems to undermine any goals of peace and happiness.
The key seems to be to look at life through different eyes; to let go of fear and strife, and to replace them with effortless and creative living.

So with this in mind, this post is not just a recipe for wonderfully tasty cured salmon, but my proof that effortless living is the secret to joy 🙂

For this dish you need to do nothing more than wrap some fish in salt, sugar and dill. Let some days pass (they will do that all on their own) and then enjoy the experience of  a beautifully, clean tasting, tender piece of cured salmon.

(And just to prove that ease and adventure go together hand in hand, see “tips and variations” below for a truly wild way of making gravlax.)

 

Ingredients
400g fresh salmon skin on
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
a large bunch of dill

 

Recipe

1. Rinse the salmon and pat dry with kitchen paper.
2. Place a double layer of cling film on your counter top. Place half the dill on the cling film.
3. Combine salt and sugar. And rub all over the fish.
4. Place fish on cling film and dill. Top with remaining dill.
5. Wrap fish tightly in cling film and place into a (zip lock) bag.
6. Put the parcel in a Tupperware container or oven dish.
7. Place a plate or chopping board on the fish and weigh it down with heavy objects. (Or completely forget about this step as I sometimes seem to do.)
8. Keep the salmon in the fridge for 3-5 days. It is best to turn the fish once a day to ensure even curing.
9. Unwrap the fish and discard the dill.
10. Rinse, pat dry and remove the skin.
11. Cutting against the grain, serve in thin slices.
12. The cured fish keeps for at least one week in the refrigerator.

 

Tips & Variations

Consider some of the following

• add a little crushed black pepper to the salt and sugar
• drizzle the fish with a tablespoon of vodka or aquavit
• Add lemon zest

 

Adventurous Gravad Lax

A friend of mine shared his way of making Gravlax with me. It is so much more exciting & wild than my “domesticated” recipe. Unfortunately it is a true winter recipe that requires frost. So although winter is hardly gone I am already looking forward to its return to try this myself.

1. Rub the salmon generously with Cognac (he uses Osborne)
2. Wrap the fish in aluminum foil and then in cling film.
3. Bury the fish in the garden about 40cm deep (this is where the name originates from: gravad lax.)
4. Frost!
5. Dig up three weeks later and enjoy.

Thank you GdB for this amazing recipe!

Tuna Olive Tapenade

This tuna olive tapenade is full of powerful flavours that pack a punch

You know you are a lucky person when you can look up from your plate and see a table surrounded with the smiling faces of friends. The air is full with the sound of buzzing conversation, bubbling laughter and clinking forks.  The table is full of tasty bites and scrumptious nibbles. Life is good!

This tapenade is a great little make-ahead dish for a fuss free dinner party. It tastes salty, rich and earthy. Originally tapenade is made with just olives and capers. This version includes tuna.  Quite moreish!

Thanks againTC and VV for giving me….and my tapenade… a place at your table.

Ingredients
(from ‘Aller Lekkerste Zomer’)

50g capers
150g  good quality pitted black olives
3 anchovies filets
1 can of good quality tuna in olive oil (about 200g)
a pinch of dried thyme
1/2 tsp lemon juice
salt, pepper
about 2 tbsp olive oil

Recipe

1. Rinse the capers. Add to a food processor together with all the ingredients except the olive oil.
2. Blend until the dip has reached the desired consistency. Add extra olive oil if necessary. ( I like my tapenade rather smooth.)
3. Taste and adjust seasoning.
4. Refrigerate for at least one hour or preferably over-night. Can be stored in the fridge for about four days.

 

Tips & Variations

Consider some of the following

• leave out the tuna and anchovies for a more traditional tapenade
• replace anchovies with anchovy paste
• add a clove of garlic
• add lemon zest
• replace thyme with oregano
• add chopped parsley

Serve with

• raw vegetables as a dip
• cream cheese or rye bread
• crostini and baked ricotta

Prawn Wonton Dumplings

Imagine having these on your table within 5 minutes of pulling them out of the freezer

 Cook once and eat twice – or in this case three or four times. I love foods that you can make in bulk and then just keep in the freezer.

These prawn dumplings are one of my favourite freezer dishes. They are very easy to make and once you have the hang of folding the dumplings, they do not take that much time to put together. The dumplings freeze beautifully and only take about four minutes to cook from frozen.

Make a large batch and keep them in the freezer for about 3 – 6 months. Then next time you feel like having a lazy evening, just pop the dumplings in a steam basket, defrost some edamame beans and relax. These dumplings make a lovely starter or great little dish for a dim sum style meal. Or serve with stir fried vegetables and rice or vermicelli for a light and effortless dinner.

The flavour of these dumplings is very light and delicate. The crunch of the prawn contrasts wonderfully with the soft wonton skin.

12-04-14: I put fudginggoods comment into practice and added lime zest and a little chili – fabulous! It adds just a touch of zing!

 

Ingredients
(from the blog ‘Rasa Malaysia‘)
About 20 dumplings

340g fresh, peeled and deveined shrimps (medium to large)
30g chives
zest of 1/2 lime
1/2 red chili
1 teaspoon egg white
1/2 teaspoon tapioca starch
1/2 teaspoon chicken or vegetable bouillon powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fish sauce
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
(white) pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon oil
about 20 wonton skin

 

Recipe

Make the filling.

1. Rinse the prawns. Pat dry with paper towel. Cut each shrimp into small pieces.
2. Chop chives.
3. Zest lime, and chop chilli finely.
4. Combine prawns, chives, zest chili and remaining marinade ingredients. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Make the wontons:

1. Lay wonton skin on a flat and dry surface.
2. Dab your index finger in a small dish with water. Trace around the skin.
3. Add some filling to the center.
4. Make three folds one side of the sheet.
5. Now fold double into a half-moon shape.
6. Press the two halves together.

Cook the dumplings:

1. Either steam: Bring some water to the boil with a steamer basket. Steam the dumplings for about 3 minutes (or 4 if frozen).
2. Or fry: Heat some oil in a pan. Fry the dumplings 2 minutes until golden. Add about 100ml water and immediately cover with a lid. Steam for about 3 minutes (or 4 if frozen).
3. To freeze the dumplings, place them on a chopping board. Do not let them touch. Place in the freezer until frozen and then transfer to a freezer bag.

Serve with

• soy sauce for dipping
• edamame (I buy mine frozen at the Asian supermarket)
• for a full meal serve with stir-fried vegetables and (fried) rice or vermicelli.

  

Tips & Variations

• the marinade can be replaced by a 1 1/2 soy sauce, 2 tsp rice vinegar and some (white) pepper
• with any leftover wonton skins you can make wonton cups to serve an appetizer salad or with filled yoghurt and fruits as desert