Tuna melt

There are days when you just do not have what it takes to cook a full-on meal. You just want something quick and simple, but the fridge and freezer are empty, and the pantry is not too far behind… Today was such a day for me.

Here's a super easy recipe for a tuna melt sandwich that will use those last slices of bread you forgot you had in the bottom of the freezer, the last pickle in the jar and that lonely tuna can.

Enjoy!



INGREDIENTS (for 2 medium sized sandwiches):
- 1x 5oz can of tuna in the brine, very well drained (don't hesitate to squeeze really hard, you do not want any liquid in the tuna salad)
- 4 small slices of bread (I used whole wheat with lots of grains)
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup freshly grated sharp cheddar
- optional: 1/2 sour pickle (or capers if you like)
- 1 tbsp butter or olive oil for frying (not pictured)


RECIPE:
- prepare the tuna salad: mix the tuna, mayonnaise, diced pickle, salt and pepper

Note: you can actually stop right there and enjoy a freshly prepared homemade tuna salad. Great as is, but fantastic with avocado, spread on crispy baguette or as a dip for crackers
- spread the tuna salad on two of the bread slices, top with cheese and finish with the two other bread slices

- in a little butter or olive oil, fry the sandwiches over very low heat until golden brown (about 2-3 minutes per side)

- enjoy!

Fish and shrimp risotto

This is more of a what-ever-can-i-come-up-with-to-empty-the-pantry-and-the-freezer kinda mishmash recipe, but it works!

I was craving tomato rice the day I made this recipe, and since I had a TON of frozen fish (that I got for a bargain at the supermarket), I decided to incorporate this maritime ingredient into a risotto.

I made this quite a long time ago, but never really had the time to edit it into a blog entry. Since my next recipe will take another couple of days before I can post it up, I decided to tackle that one and have it ready for you for the weekend.

Hope you'll like!



INGREDIENTS (for 2 to 3 people):
- 1.5 cups arborio rice
- 1 15oz can of crushed tomatoes
- 2 to 3 cups of water (use 2 and then add more if needed)
- 1/2 cup white wine
- olive oil
- 1 shallot, finely diced
- 1 clove of garlic, slivered
- 2 lbs of mixed fish and peeled deveined shrimp, cubed (I used frozen shrimp and fish that I thawed and drained, my personal fish mix was cod, tilapia and flounder)
- salt, pepper
- grated Parmesan cheese to taste


RECIPE:
- in a skillet, heat a glob of olive oil and saute the shallot and garlic until transparent. Do not let it brown.

- add the rice, and coat with oil. Cook for a minute or so on medium-high heat, until the rice is opaque and bright white. Do not let it brown.

- add the wine and a ladle of water, and stir until the liquid is absorbed.

- add the tomatoes and their liquid. Stir until the liquid is absorbed.

- add the rest of the water ladle by ladle, stirring until each ladle has been absorbed before adding the next one, until the rice is almost cooked through (about 25 minutes)
- when the rice is a few minutes shy of being done, add the shrimp, fish cubes, salt and pepper and cook for 5-8 minutes (or until cooked through)

- finish with a healthy dose of grated parmesan cheese

- serve hot, sprinkled with italian parsley

- Enjoy!