One-Dish Tuna Italianate

 


Long years ago, I bought a remaindered copy of a brand-name cookbook, the contents of which were – as one might guess – recipes developed for use with brand name food products. Since then, I may have had use for a half dozen of those recipes at least once, but one in particular got more than its fair share of revisiting, because it was a triple-whammy: simple, tasty, and generally inexpensive (read: super-cheap!).

The original came from Success brand rice, and looks like this:

Over the intervening years, a few things have changed. For one, the standard can of tuna is no longer 7 ounces, but a mere 5 ounces. Go figure. One can adjust the recipe to that change by doubling the rest of the ingredients and using 3 cans of tuna, giving the extra tablespoon to the cat, if one wishes, or by going with the flow on a single batch and assuming 5 ounces of fish will be enough to share with three friends (raised eyebrows notwithstanding. It's your budget and they're your friends).

1 bag of Success brand rice still cooks up to 2 cups of fluffy carbohydrates.

I've made my own adaptations (naturally), not the least of which is ditching some of those carbohydrates, by using alternate "rice" options. However, those rice substitutes don't absorb moisture the way the original does. So, reducing the called-for milk is an absolute need, if you use riced cauliflower, zucchini, or heart of palm.

Also, you can play around with the meat in this dish. If you're like me, you have some leftover ground or pulled meat in the freezer, or, if not, you can cook some expressly for the purpose. Or open a can of your favorite other. With each option, you may want to tweak the amount and type of seasoning a bit, but the baseline stays the same: 1 1/2 cups cheese, about 1 cup meat,  about 2 cups rice-ish stuff, 1 egg, 1/2 cup chopped sweet pepper, 1/4 cup minced onion, and a bit of milk to mix it together.

This, though, is my recent reduced-carb variation, using hearts of palm rice (different brands may have different portions. Palmini pouches usually contain 12 ounces, or 3 servings), and cauliflower… well, you can play around with fresh-steamed, or a package or two of frozen (thawed), but you'll also need to reduce the milk used in this recipe.

It's also slightly reduced-sodium, by doctor's orders. If you're like my dad, though, and find seawater too bland, you can add back in the original salt and add more to taste.

Also, if you use prepackaged shredded cheese, I recommend lightly rinsing and draining it, so it will melt better (the cellulose fiber that they coat it with – so it doesn't re-congeal in the pouch – does interfere in the way it'll react to heat).

One-Dish Tuna Italianate

Ingredients:

 2 (9 ounce) packages of riced hearts of palm, rinsed, and moisture pressed out of it
2 (5 ounce) cans good tuna packed in water (I use albacore when I can afford it), rinsed and drained
1/2 cup extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded,
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided
1/2 cup sweet bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup sweet onion, minced
1 large egg
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning blend
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/4 cup extra mozzarella, shredded (optional)
fresh-grated Parmesan (optional)

Directions:

With rack in middle of oven, preheat oven to 375º F

Arrange your rinsed "rice" in a single layer in a well-greased 1-quart baking dish,

In a medium mixing bowl, combine rinsed tuna, cheddar cheese, bell pepper, onion, and 1/2 cup mozzarella. Apply in a layer over the "rice".

In small mixing bowl, combine egg, milk, Italian seasoning, and ground pepper. Whisk until blended. Stir in 1/2 cup mozzarella. Pour over tuna and rice, distributing evenly. If you're a cheese-maniac like me, you can add an extra layer of cheese to the top, for a pretty finish.

Bake at 375º F for 20 minutes, or until cheese begins to blister and turn brown.

Allow to cool and rest at least 5 minutes before serving.


Top with freshly-grated Parmesan cheese, if you like, and serve with a nice green salad on the side.

Variations:

Using 1 cup leftover (or store-bought) pulled beef, pork, or chicken, substitute your favorite BBQ seasoning mix for the Italian blend.

Using fresh ground meat, add 1/2 of the seasoning blend before browning the meat, drain away fat, and stir in a tablespoon of good tomato paste, then add the bell pepper, onion, etc. before applying it to the "rice" layer.

Using your favorite fresh/frozen fish instead of canned tuna, steam or broil it until it becomes flaky, allow it to cool, and shred it. Using steamed or boiled shrimp, chop them coarsely & add a teaspoon of lemon juice and a tablespoon of tomato paste before mixing in the peppers, onions, etc.

Make it vegetarian by substituting 1 cup stir-fried mushrooms and/or spinach (chopped, cooked, and squeezed to remove most of its liquid) instead of the tuna.

Add a mess of garlic. Get wild.