If I had to eat one kind of savory food for the rest of my life, it would be freakin’ canned tuna.
I’m dead serious, here. Tuna salad sandwiches, tuna & noodles, tuna croquettes, tuna cakes, tuna burgers, tuna casserole…I’ve eaten and loved it all. If there’s ever a day that I can’t think of what to eat, I turn to my trusty canned fish friend.
It’s not for everyone, of that I’m sure. I’ve had so many people turn their nose up when I mention having it for lunch – of course, that’s the same reaction I have when someone mentions olives.
The beauty of tuna lies in it’s versatility, and the flavors packed in this Spicy Tuna Avocado Panini Melt make this canned star sing!
I used to only eat tuna in oil, but water packed has so much less fat in exchange for an equal reduction in flavor. In exchange for the fat from the oil, I added avocado to this recipe, for even more Omega-3 awesomeness.
Your heart will love you for eating this sandwich.
To spice it up a little, and speed up your metabolism, I added crushed red pepper, a little bit of salsa jack cheese (a flavor I’m totally in love with right now), and a good amount of a green Tabasco-Dijon mustard concoction I came up with on the fly, and use quite often now!
For a little zing, there’s some Greek yogurt and lime juice in there, as well, all mixed up with classic tuna salad veggies. Then, you press it or grill it up until it’s beautifully melty and warm and makes anyone around you jealous that they aren’t having what you’re having.
At which point, you can just turn your nose up at them and enjoy your lunch. Those canned tuna haters don’t deserve a bite.
Ingredients
- 1/2 ripe avocado
- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 cans tuna in water, drained
- 1 celery rib, diced
- 1 shallot, diced
- 2 mini sweet red peppers, diced
- Juice from 1/2 lime
- 2 Tablespoons green Tabasco sauce
- 4 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
- Focaccia bread
- Sliced tomato
- Spinach
- Salsa or Pepper Jack cheese
Instructions
- In a bowl, mash avocado and yogurt together until smooth, then add spices and stir. Add tuna, vegetables, and lime juice, stirring until well incorporated.
- In a small bowl, combine green Tabasco with Dijon, stirring until blended.
- Cut Focaccia bread into quarters. Spread a layer of the Dijon-Tabasco sauce on the inside of the bread, then add a layer of tuna, and top with cheese, spinach, and tomato.
- Carefully brush a thin layer of Dijon-Tabasco on the tops and bottoms of each quarter, then place in panini press or countertop grill. Allow to grill until cheese is melty and the bread toasts.
How do you like to eat your canned tuna fish?
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