CANNED TUNA “RILLETTES”
Rillettes are traditionally made by combining cooked pork with rendered lard and salt. This version is a riff on the classic, with a nod to the Italian version, “Tonno sott’Olio Mantecato”. This simple spread is a great alternative to your standard tuna salad. It’s delicious with almost any canned tuna but, like most recipes, if you use a high-quality canned tuna it becomes a total show-stopper. It’s rich and very savory, so a simple salad of fine herbs dressed in lemon and olive oil makes the perfect accompaniment to this savory spread.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 can of tuna
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) of butter, room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon whole-grain dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon flake sea salt, or substitute 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, fresh-cracked and course ground
- 1 teaspoon capers
- 1 small shallot, finely chopped
- A pinch of red pepper flakes and high-quality olive oil (to garnish)
DIRECTIONS
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Drain the liquid from the canned tuna and pulse in a food processor until it is thoroughly shredded and has the consistency of course sand.
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After you process the tuna, add the room temperature butter, Dijon, salt and pepper, and pulse until smooth.
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Add the capers and shallot and pulse until combined.
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Serve garnished with oil and pepper flakes, with crostini or grilled country loaf.
