How to Make Three Quick Tuna Appetizer Recipes

Turn a Tin of Tuna into Easy Party-Ready Nibbles

© Larry Ervin

Dec 20, 2008

If there's a tin of tuna in your pantry, you need never be at a loss for a quick appetizer. The Crunchy Thai Tuna Roll-Ups exult in fresh ingredients, but you can make up the Tuna Tapenade and Tuna-Stuffed Eggs with ingredients you probably have on hand.

Any of these recipes could be made with leftover cooked tuna (salmon or other fish).

Crunchy Thai Tuna Roll-Ups

Filling Ingredients:

• 1 (6 oounce). can tuna, drained and flaked
• 2 cups grated carrot
• 1 cup bean sprouts
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)
• 1 scallion (green onion, spring onion), chopped (green and white parts)
• 1/2 cup chopped roasted peanuts
• 1 jalapeno pepper, minced

Roll-up Ingredients:

• 16 (8 inch) round rice paper wrappers
• 8 leaves green leaf lettuce
• 1/3 cup hoisin sauce
• 1 cup store-bought Thai peanut sauce

Method:

1. Gently toss together the filling ingredients until well distributed.
2. Soften the rice paper wrappers by dipping them, one at a time, into water for just a few seconds. Place in a single layer on damp tea towel and fold each wrapper in half.
3. Tear the lettuce to slightly larger than the rice paper wrappers. Cover each wrapper with lettuce, overlapping the folded edge of the wrapper by about ½ inch.
4. For each roll-up, spread about 1 tsp. hoisin sauce over lettuce.
5. Divide the tuna mixture among the wrappers and drizzle some of peanut dipping sauce over top of each.
6. Fold up about 1 inch of the rounded edge of wrapper, then roll wrapper around filling. The rice paper will stick to itself. Taste the first one to determine if you have the right balance of hoisin and peanut sauce to filling.
7. Fill the remaining wrappers in the same manner. (You can make these up ahead and keep them, refrigerated, covered with damp paper towels.
8. To serve, arrange the roll-ups on a platter with a small bowl of the peanut dipping sauce.

Quick Tuna Tapenade

Yield: about 1½ cups

You will need: a food processor or blender

Ingredients:

• 1 (6 ounce) can tuna, drained, flaked
• 1 (2 ounce) can flat anchovy filets, coarsely chopped
• 1 (2¼ ounce) can sliced ripe olives
• ¼ cup capers, drained
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Method:

1. Add all of the ingredients except the olive oil to your food processor. Process until puréed.
2. Gradually pour the olive oil in through the feed tube while pulsing (or with the blender on low speed) until a thick paste forms.
3. Serve with baguette slices, crackers and/or raw vegetable crudité.

Tuna-Stuffed Eggs

Follow the directions in Deviled Eggs – A Devil's Dozen Ways and fill with the following mixture:

• 1 (6 ounce) can tuna, drained and flaked
• 12 hardboiled egg yolks
• ¼ cup butter, softened
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 4 Tbsp mayonnaise
• ¼ cup sweet pickle relish
• ½ tsp paprika
• freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method:

Mash together all of the ingredients with a fork until fairly smooth.Stuff the eggs with the mixture.

If you use a zip lock bag for piping the mixture into the egg white nests, you may need to snip off the corner to make about a ¾-inch hole, depending on how chunky you the mixture is.

Fresh dill or strips of lemon zest make attractive garnish for these stuffed eggs.

Look here for over thirty taste-tempting appetizer / starter ideas, including:

• Cucumber Salmon Canapés
• Hot & Cheesy Artichoke Dip
• Deviled Eggs: A Dozen Different ways
• Baked Brie with Shallots and Toasted Hazelnuts
• Camembert en Boite (Baked it its own Box)
• Pates: Brandied Chicken LiverRustic Chicken Liver Pâté with Pistachios

• The Perfect Cheese Plate: Irish
• Pakora (and variations) with Mint Dipping Sauce or Cilantro Chutney
• Mushrooms Stuffed with Smoked Salmon or Sturgeon

Tinned Tuna

Anchovy Fillets

Tuna in the Wild

Yellow Onions

Bean Sprouts

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