Page 19 - Florida Sentinel 10-2-15 Edition

Recipes
Tuna Empanadas
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 small yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
5 ounces spinach, chopped
1 5-oz. can tuna in oil, drained
1/4 cup pitted green olives, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 17.5-oz. box frozen puff pastry, thawed Make Garlic Cheese and Sausage Pinwheels
DIRECTIONS: Cover 1 egg with cold water in a pot; bring to a boil. Remove from heat; cover; let sit 12 minutes. Run under cold water. Peel and chop egg.
Preheat oven to 325oF. Warm oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté onion 4 minutes. Add garlic, paprika, salt and crushed red pepper; sauté 1 minute.
Add spinach to skillet by the handful, stirring after each. Increase heat to high. Sauté 5 min- utes. Transfer to a bowl; let cool. Stir in tuna, olives, lemon juice and chopped egg.
Line two baking sheets with parchment. Roll one sheet of pastry on a floured surface to 1/8- inch thickness. Cut out 12 3-inch rounds. Repeat with second pastry sheet. Spoon 1/2 Tbsp. of tuna mixture in center of each round. Fold pastry over; press and crimp edges. Transfer to baking sheets.
Whisk remaining egg with 1 tsp. water. Brush each empanada with egg wash. Bake until deep golden brown, about 35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool 10 minutes.
Transform Canned Tuna From Whomp-Whomp To Wow
From Tonia Turner
What's cheap, healthy and delicious? Canned tuna. Averag- ing $1-2 a can and rich in heart-healthy fats, B vitamins and vi- tamin D, tuna is the rare food that's both budget-friendly and nutritious. One word of warning: Tuna can have higher levels of mercury, so opt for canned light varieties. (Children under six can safely eat up to three 3-ounce portions per month and older children and adults can have it once a week).
These ideas will make you stop viewing tuna as a one-trick pony and start thinking of it as a protein with possibilities.
Sushi Sandwiches
3 pieces of whole wheat sandwich bread
1 can of tuna (in water) 1 tablespoon
mayonnaise (plus more for spreading on the bread)
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 cucumber, cut into long, thin sticks
1 carrot, grated
DIRECTIONS: Cut the crusts off of each slice of bread and roll out as thin as possible with a rolling pin.
Place the tuna, mayonnaise and dijon mustard in a bowl and stir to combine.
Place the long side of the rolled out bread closest to you. Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on each slice of rolled out bread. Thinly spread 1/3 of the tuna mixture onto half of the bread lengthwise. On top of the tuna mixture, arrange some of the cucumber sticks and grated carrot making sure not too over stuff the roll (a little goes a long way). Starting at the side closest to you (the filled end) tightly roll the tuna/cucumber/carrot mixture up and press to seal into a roll (dab a bit of mayonnaise across the end of the roll to act as a glue sealing the roll).
Cut the roll into 4 even pieces and repeat with remaining bread and tuna mixture.
Tuna Cakes With Fresh Tomato Salsa
Tuna Cakes
3 5 oz. cans Albacore Tuna (in water), drained and fluffed
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
1/3 cup crushed Rye crackers
2 tablespoons freshly minced parsley 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1-1/2 teaspoons Jalapeno
Tabasco (the green one), to taste salt and pepper, to taste
1 large egg, whisked
2 tablespoons olive oil
DIRECTIONS (For the Tuna Cakes): In a large bowl, mix together tuna, onion, crushed Wasa crackers, parsley, garlic, lime juice, mustard, and jalapeno Tabasco. Then add a little salt and pepper, stirring, and taste testing. Once you have reached your desired seasonings, stir in the egg. Pat tuna mixture into patties, using 1/2 cup packed tuna for each patty. Set on wax paper.
To Freeze: Flash freeze Tuna Cakes, for 30 minutes, on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Then wrap each cake individually with plastic wrap and place in a ziplock bag. Freeze for up to 1 month (which is as long as I have tried, but I think they would be fine for up to 3 months). To thaw, place Tuna Cakes in fridge a day before you plan to use them. Once thawed, cook as follows: Add 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large non-stick sauté pan, over medium heat. Add two Tuna Cakes to the pan and cook for 2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Remove from pan and set on a paper towel covered plate to drain off any excess oil. Repeat entire process (including adding a second tablespoon of olive oil) to cook the remaining to Tuna Cakes.
Tomato Salsa
4 roma tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup chopped yellow onion and 2 green onions, chopped 2 tablespoons minced parsley
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
DIRECTIONS (For the Fresh Tomato Salsa): Toss together tomatoes, yellow onion, green onions, parsley, lime juice, garlic salt and pepper. Place in an airtight container and re- frigerate for 2 hours before eating. This allows the flavors to develop, but of course you can eat it immediately if in a rush!
Recipe Note: Make your Fresh Tomato Salsa a couple hours ahead of the Tuna Cakes to allow time for the flavors to develop.
Serve: Top Tuna Cakes with Fresh Tomato Salsa and serve immediately!
Fun Twists For These Tuna Cakes
1. Make them into sliders! Turn these babies into the perfect appetizer by making them mini tuna cakes and wrapping them with a whole wheat bun.
2. Serve them in a pita and toss the fresh salsa right into the pita pocket. I bet they would be awesome with a drizzle of some homemade Tzatziki too!
3. Make them like mini crabcake appetizers, but serve them in mini bowls with the salsa piled on top.
4. Serve them as full out burgers. Best part about these, you can make them a day ahead and store them in the fridge. Or if you need even more time...you can make them and freeze them! Just thaw them out the day before the party in the fridge. Once people get hungry, a quick turn in the sauté pan will give you gorgeous healthy burgers before halftime is over!
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 7-B