Tuna Tapenade

I’ve really been giving Ina Garten’s new cookbook a workout!  For the Soup Swap I recently hosted, I used several recipes from the cookbook.  I really liked this appetizer which brings a new twist to a tuna sandwich.  And who doesn’t like a tuna sandwich? 

This also gave me a chance to finally try a brand of tuna that I tasted last summer and really liked.  I was at a food-related conference and Tonnino Tuna was handing out samples at one of the booths.  I brought a jar of tuna home that night and decided this tapenade could really showcase it.  The tuna is really gorgeous.  Packed in oil, the taste resembles some of the fine Italian tunas that are available here.  The jars are packed with approximately 3″ long pieces of filet.  They’d be really nice topping a salad, too. For this recipe I used the plain Yellowfin but they offer several varieties enhanced with herbs or other flavorings.  They also have Alaskan Sockeye which I may try at some point. 

The recipe uses a food processor for blending the ingredients but the mixture is soft enough that you could also use a fork to mix it all together.  If using a fork, mince the parsley before adding it to the rest of the ingredients.
 

Crostini with Tuna Tapenade

adapted from  Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That?: Fabulous Recipes & Easy Tips

• 6 to 7 oz canned or jarred tuna, preferably in olive oil
• 1 tsp anchovy paste
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
• 1 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 clove garlic minced, about 1 tsp
• 1 Tbsp lemon zest
• 1 1/2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil, plus extra for brushing the bread – see note below
• 1/4 cup marscapone cheese
• 1/8 cup pitted and chopped Kalamata olives
• 1/2 Tbsp drained capers
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Country baguette, cut into 20 3/8″ slices

Drain all but 1 Tbsp of oil from the tuna.  Add the fish and the reserved oil to the bowl of a food processor.  Add the anchovy paste, thyme, parsley, lemon zest and garlic and pulse a few times.  Add the lemon juice, 1 1/2 Tbsp of olive oil (see note) and the marscapone and blend until almost smooth. 

Add the olives, capers, salt and pepper to taste and pulse just to incorporate.  Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.

In the meantime, heat a broiler on high.  Brush one side of the bread slices with a little olive oil.  Place on a sheet pan.  Broil until the bread is golden.  Remove from the sheet pan and allow to cool on a rack. 

Allow guests to assemble their own crostini or mound a little on the toasted side of each bread slice, garnish with a little additional parsley and serve. 

Note:  The next time I make this recipe I will not add the 1 1/2 Tbsp of olive oil.  I don’t think the recipe needed it.  After mixing all other ingredients, if the mixture seems a little dry I’d drizzle in just enough to make the mixture spreadable.