Best Maltese Baked Tuna Recipes

facebook share image   twitter share image   pinterest share image   E-Mail share image

HOW TO MAKE A TUNA MELT



How to Make a Tuna Melt image

This is dedicated to all those chefs who tell you to never, ever mix fish and cheese together; and yet there they are, at the diner at 2:00 in the morning. And you know what they eat? Tuna melts. And the reason they do is because it is delicious.

Provided by Chef John

Categories     Seafood     Fish     Tuna

Time 25m

Yield 2

Number Of Ingredients 12

1 (6.5 ounce) jar oil-packed tuna, drained
1 tablespoon minced green onion
2 tablespoons finely diced celery
2 teaspoons capers, drained
1 teaspoon Asian chile paste (such as sambal oelek)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise, or more to taste
⅓ cup fresh mozzarella cheese
salt and ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons softened butter, divided
2 thick slices French bread
¼ cup shredded sharp white Cheddar cheese, divided
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste

Steps:

  • Place tuna into a mixing bowl and lightly break apart with a fork. Add green onion, celery, capers, chile paste, and mayonnaise. Pinch small pieces from mozzarella cheese into the tuna salad and stir to mix. Season with salt and black pepper; refrigerate tuna salad until needed.
  • Heat oven's broiler. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
  • Spread butter generously on both sides of French bread slices.
  • Broil buttered bread until golden brown on top, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip bread slices and broil other side until toasted, 2 to 3 more minutes. Remove from oven and turn bread slices over on the baking sheet so the darkest sides are on the bottom.
  • Gently spread tuna salad onto bread slices using 2 forks. Press the salad onto the bread and spread tuna all the way to the edges of the bread. Spread shredded sharp Cheddar over each sandwich. Dust tops with cayenne pepper.
  • Place sandwiches under broiler and cook until cheese is melted and bubbling, 5 to 6 minutes.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 593.5 calories, Carbohydrate 22.9 g, Cholesterol 81.6 mg, Fat 39.5 g, Fiber 1.1 g, Protein 36.4 g, SaturatedFat 16.4 g, Sodium 918.2 mg, Sugar 2.3 g

MALTESE BAKED TUNA



Maltese Baked Tuna image

This recipe comes from "Simply Seafood", a magazine published in Seattle in the late 70's-early 90's. Sadly, no longer in existence, it was one of the best sources of fish & seafood recipes, as well as the state of the fish industry. I've been unable to find a similar authentic recipe in any of my cookbooks, magazines, etc. I have spoken to Maltese friends who confirm the authenticity of the recipe. Maltese cuisine is influenced by Africa and, in this case, Italy. Clearly, fish and seafood play a key role in the regular meals of this island. The beauty of this recipe is that while it is described as baking, the dish starts with a relatively small amount of liquid and the tomatoes give up liquid as they soften and melt at the relatively low cooking temperature. Thus, this is more a braise than a bake and the fish retains or absorbs liquid as it cooks, thus staying moist. This is a very different style of tuna compared to the quick, high heat, "seared on the outside, rare on the inside" style. This recipe is quite forgiving: I have used frozen tuna steaks without defrosting them and cooked this in a slow cooker at low heat for 6 hours or at high heat for 4 hours: just add enough additional water so that the tuna stays moist. Also, if you're blessed with thick tuna steaks, whether baking or using a slow cooker, just add water as needed and keep the tuna moist until it cooks through ... Serve with a green salad and crusty bread. Wine along with the meal (or if you choose, added to the braising liquid) is a wonderful touch -- for the broth, you can use either white or red. For drinking, a Sicilian wine would match the Mediterranean island origin of the dish, but anything from southern Italy would be appropriate ... In additon to being a dinner, any leftovers can be served at room temperature or heated up for lunch ... Note that since the salt and pepper are "to taste", the nutritional analysis for sodium will be incorrect -- if you are on a no/low/restricted salt diet, beware!!

Provided by Gandalf The White

Categories     One Dish Meal

Time 1h

Yield 4 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 12

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 onions, small, diced
salt, to taste (Note, nutritional analysis for sodium will be incorrect, you must account for the salt you add!)
black pepper, freshly ground, to taste
1 lb baking potato, peeled, thinly sliced
1 1/2-2 lbs tuna, as steaks, ca. 1/2 inch thick, usually around 4 steaks
1 lb plum tomato, halved and cored
4 garlic cloves, crushed but left whole
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/4 cup of fresh mint, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Steps:

  • Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • Brush the sides and bottom of a baking dish with some of the olive oil; if using a slow cooker, simply brush the bottom and lower part of the cooking bowl.
  • Scatter the onions on the bottom of the baking dish.
  • Season with salt and pepper; use sea salt for authenticity or kosher salt.
  • Layer potato slices to cover then onions, then season lightly.
  • Alternate as needed until all onions and potatoes are used up.
  • Put the tuna steaks on top of the last layer, then cover with the tomato halves, cut side down.
  • Add the garlic cloves, then pour in the water.
  • Pour the remaining olive oil and red wine vinegar over the tomatoes, then sprinkle the mint and parsley over the entire top.
  • Season as taste dictates with salt and pepper.
  • Cover the baking dish (aluminum foil if the dish doesn't have a cover).
  • Bake until the potatoes are fork tender (usually around 45-60 minutes).
  • Let rest for 10 minutes, serve hot.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 526.3, Fat 22.3, SaturatedFat 4.1, Cholesterol 64.6, Sodium 84.2, Carbohydrate 37.4, Fiber 5.1, Sugar 7.6, Protein 44

Are you curently on diet or you just want to control your food's nutritions, ingredients? We will help you find recipes by cooking method, nutrition, ingredients...
Check it out »

    #lactose     #60-minutes-or-less     #time-to-make     #course     #main-ingredient     #cuisine     #preparation     #casseroles     #lunch     #main-dish     #seafood     #oven     #easy     #european     #beginner-cook     #kosher     #italian     #fish     #crock-pot-slow-cooker     #dietary     #one-dish-meal     #gluten-free     #inexpensive     #tuna     #free-of-something     #saltwater-fish     #equipment

Related Topics