Eggplant Tapenade Tuna Nicoise Salad

Following on from my recent “Eat the Freezer” post, I should probably pull together an “Eat the Pantry” series. For similar to my freezer, my pantry is starting to fill up with lots of bits and pieces.  Half packets of pasta, noodles, vinegars and sauces….

You get the idea.

A little while ago I came across this lovely little eggplant tapenade hiding up the back that, from memory, arrived in a gift box of edible goodies for my birthday. And while I would normally save tapenade for pasta, I had a lighter meal in mind, and so this eggplant tapenade nicoise salad came to be.

I steamed baby chat potatoes then, while they were still warm, stirred through a few generous spoonfuls of the tapenade. The remainder of the salad was built using steamed asparagus and beans, chargrilled corn, mesculin, tinned tuna and, of course, a soft boiled egg.

Despite the abundance of other ingredients, the tapenade really shined! It added lots of flavour to the salad, with no additional dressing required. And while on this occasion I used eggplant tapenade,  I think an olive or pepper tapenade would also work really well.

Print Recipe
 Eggplant Tapenade Tuna Nicoise Salad
Course Salad
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
Course Salad
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Chargrill corn in a pan until golden brown. Remove kernels and set aside.
  2. Steam chat potatoes for 8 minutes, or until cooked. Place in a large bowl, and while warm, stir through the tapenade.
  3. Steam the asaparagus and beans for 3 to 4 minutes, then refresh by running under cold water.
  4. Add the corn, asparagus, beans, lettuce and tuna to the potatoes, stirring gently to combine.
  5. Place lettuce in serving bowls, and top with the tuna / potato salad mixture, along with two egg halves. Season and serve.
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Tuna and vegetable stuffed sweet potatoes

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Growing up we never ate sweet potatoes. I don’t even remember if they were all that available…?  Rather, our plates usually had some sort of white potato on it – generally mashed with lashings of butter and milk, or on the odd occasion they would be oven roasted.

These days, however, I don’t tend to reach for white potatoes in our grocery shop.  Not unless I’m making a potato salad or perhaps to go along with a roast dinner. Instead, I grab sweet potatoes – orange, white or purple – whatever the local green grocer has. The kids love them when they are sliced into wedges and oven baked, or steamed and mashed, and served alongside whatever else they are having for that particular meal.

On this occasion, we went with “stuffed” sweet potatoes. Aka. little roasted sweet potato “boats” that we filled with tuna, vegetables and cheese, and grilled til they were nice and golden.

I added a good drizzle of chilli sauce for the adult’s version (#cravings), while the kid’s ate their version plain. Served with a pile of greens on the side, and this turned out to be one tasty meal indeed!

Tuna and vegetable stuffed sweet potatoes  (serves 4)

  • 4 small sweet potatoes, halved
  • 300g mixed vegetables, steamed (I used carrots, broccoli and corn)
  • 185g tin of tuna in spring water, drained
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup grated cheese
  • Fresh parsley, chilli sauce  and leafy greens to serve
  1. Preheat oven to 200C.
  2. Wrap the sweet potatoes in foil and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until soft. Allow to cool slightly, then scoop out the potato flesh and place in a large bowl. Mash until smooth.
  3. Place the remaining potato skin ‘boats’ onto a baking tray lined with baking paper.
  4. Add the steamed vegetables, drained tuna and sour cream to the sweet potato flesh, and stir until well combined. Season to taste.
  5. Spoon the tuna / potato mixture back into the sweet potato skins and top with grated cheese.  Bake for a further 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.
  6. Serve with fresh parsley and chilli sauce, and alongside the leafy greens.

Christmas in July

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Happy Monday lovely people! IMG_3080 What a weekend we have just had. Sadly not because of any grand adventures….quite the opposite really. For finally my immune system decided that ‘enough is enough’ and yielded to the cold / flu bug that has been lurking around our house for the last month or so. So, while I was well enough to prepare our special Xmas in July dinner on Saturday night, sadly I was not all that enthused when it came to actually eating said dinner. IMG_3108 But here is a glimpse into the night’s dishes nonetheless. IMG_3099 On the menu… IMG_3104 Ham shoulder, glazed with marmalade, whiskey and dijon mustard. IMG_3086IMG_3088IMG_3085IMG_3118 Turkey stuffed with apple and cranberry (unpictured?!) On the side – duck fat roast potatoes, cranberry and pistachio “stuffing” and a pumpkin, red onion and feta salad. IMG_3120IMG_3081IMG_3093 All together now! IMG_3121 But it was dessert that had me most excited… IMG_3064 Sticky date pudding, served with butterscotch sauce, double cream and almond biscotti. IMG_3070 I only wish my tastebuds has been co-operating! Details of the dishes to follow… What about you? Did you celebrate Christmas in July this year?

Garlic potato pizza

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IMG_0958 Perhaps I should have called last week “pizza week” – for going back through my camera I realised that we ate it for dinner 3 times! I guess that is what happens when you buy a 4 pack of pizza bases that has an upcoming expiry date?! But although pizza graced our dinner table on multiple occasions, the fact it is so very versatile meant that it was different each time. First, we had a ham, tomato and basil version. Then it was thai chicken. And on the final occasion, it was a super easy garlic and potato variety. IMG_0951 Simply – sliced potatoes – that I had peeled, sliced and microwaved until tender. Combined with some fresh garlic and olive oil. Spread atop the prepared pizza dough, sprinkled with grated mozzarella, and a little cracked pepper. IMG_0954 Baked for 12 minutes, until golden brown. IMG_0959 Delicious, no? IMG_0960 Served with a green salad on the side, and our speedy mid week meal was complete. IMG_0962 Just lovely. What about you? What is your favourite way to use garlic?

Sunshine, strolls and salad

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Charlotte and I made the most of another wonderfully warm and sunny autumn day with our first trip into the City to visit my work colleagues. Actually, now I think about it, this was the first trip in the car and with the pram that has just been the two of us (the others having been with Mr BBB or my Mum). IMG_0257 Given the weather – I decided to park a little further away from the office, and get my exercise in for the day  – a 2km walk by the lake. And, given Charlotte slept the whole time, I am assuming that she too enjoyed being out and about in the sunshine. We returned home from our little adventure famished – and after Miss C was fed, cuddled and finally fell asleep again, I set about making a big lunch for myself. I boiled some potatoes and beans, then using a couple hard boiled eggs that we had in the fridge and a tin of tuna, my tuna salad came together in no time at all. IMG_5625 Drizzled with olive oil and a little lemon juice, this salad was just what I was craving. Fresh, healthy and protein packed. IMG_5626 The hardboiled eggs were definitely my favourite. Actually, I always seem to forget just how much I enjoy them – I really should keep them on hand more. IMG_5627 But now, time to do some chores before the baby wakes… What about you? What is your favourite salad ingredient?