Artichoke Tuna Bean Salad

This tasty Artichoke Tuna Bean Salad is easy to toss together but it’s full of flavor and makes a wonderful starter or light meal. 

One pantry staple we are never without is tuna in a can. Many an afternoon I hear the snick-snick of the can opener and either my husband or daughter is opening a can to eat with fork, straight from the can. It’s one of my favorite things to eat as well. 

That said, often of a morning you will find me boiling eggs in the Instant Pot, just to make my southern-style tuna salad. Where I come from, tuna salad has to have boiled eggs in it! I love to eat it on soft sandwich bread or piled high on Triskets. 

Back in my college days, what I called tuna surprise was one of my favorite meals. It required just three ingredients: noodles, cream cheese and a can of tuna. 

Bonus Tuna Surprise recipe: Just boil the noodles and drain. Add the cream cheese to the hot pot of pasta and stir till melted. Add tuna and stir again. This is seriously delicious and a relatively cheap, warm bowl of comfort food. If you want to get fancy, pour the whole pot in a casserole dish and bake till browned on top but that step is not really necessary.

Artichoke Tuna Bean Salad

This recipe is adapted from one in New York Times Cooking. According to the original author, it’s a mainstay in her house since it uses ingredients she usually has on hand for an easy light meal. I added a few ingredients but would still wholeheartedly agree.

Ingredients – Serves 4-6 as a starter

1 jar (6.5 oz or 185g) marinated quartered artichoke hearts, drained and 1/4 cup or 60ml marinade reserved

1 small or 1/2 medium red onion, peeled and very thinly sliced 40g

1 small red chili pepper, minced

2 teaspoons cider vinegar 

1 tablespoon plain Greek yogurt

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 (12-oz or 340g) can water-packed albacore tuna, drained

1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans or borlotti beans, drained through a strainer and rinsed

Several sprigs Italian parsley leaves, chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Baby spinach to serve, if desired

Method

Place the onion and chili pepper in a bowl and add the vinegar. Leave to marinate. 

Pour the vinegar into 1/4 cup or 60ml of the reserved artichoke marinade and then whisk in the Dijon mustard and yogurt. Add a pinch of fine sea salt and a few good grinds of black pepper.

In a large bowl, combine the artichoke hearts, beans, onion and chili pepper.

Add the tuna and pour on the dressing. Toss gently to coat. Garnish with parsley. 

Serve as is or put a small handful of baby spinach on each plate then top with the artichoke tuna bean salad. 

Enjoy!

It’s the second Friday of the month which means it’s time for my Fish Friday Foodies to share recipes. Today’s theme is Fish from a Can. I love this theme! Canned fish is tasty and convenient. I always have sardines, tuna, anchovies, smoked oysters, salmon, etc. in my pantry so I can’t wait to see all the other canned fish recipes. Check them out below. Many thanks to our host, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm. 

• Food Lust People Love: Artichoke Tuna Bean Salad 
• Sneha’s Recipe: Keto Tuna Melt Chaffle 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Smoked Clam Dip 
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Spicy Salmon and Potato Croquettes 
• Palatable Pastime: Tuna Melt
• Culinary Cam: Growing an Appreciation for Tinned and Jarred Fish + an Anchovy-Artichoke Egg Salad Recipe

Would you like to join Fish Friday Foodies? We post and share new seafood/fish recipes on the third Friday of the month. To join our group please email Wendy at wendyklik1517 (at) gmail.com. Visit our Facebook page and Pinterest page for more wonderful fish and seafood recipe ideas.

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Sourdough Carrot Cake Waffles with Cream Cheese Syrup #BreadBakers

What could be more perfect for Easter breakfast or brunch than sourdough carrot cake waffles with a drizzle of cream cheese syrup? Not a single thing!

This recipe idea came to me last month when I was baking the sourdough sweet carrot waffles for Muffin Monday. I made a little note for myself, as a reminder to try carrot cake waffles someday. 

When our Bread Bakers host for April decided on Easter breads as our theme, some day came sooner rather than later! Waffles are, after all, a quick bread. 

Sourdough Carrot Cake Waffles with Cream Cheese Syrup

This recipe makes 7 Belgian-style waffles. If you aren’t eating them at once pop them in the toaster to reheat and refrigerate the cream cheese syrup. It’s still quite spreadable, even cold.  

Ingredients  

For the waffle batter:

1 1/2 cups or 190g all purpose flour

1/4 cup, tightly packed, or 50g brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup or 210g fed sourdough

1/2 cup or 120g mashed cooked carrots 

2/3 cup or 160ml milk 

1/4 cup or 60ml canola oil, plus extra for greasing the waffle iron

2 eggs 

For about 2/3 cup or 156ml cream cheese syrup:

4 oz or 113g cream cheese, softened

6 tablespoons powdered sugar, sifted

3 tablespoons milk, plus more to taste

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

Make the cream cheese syrup by beating together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Whisk in the milk and vanilla. (Add a bit more milk if you prefer a thinner syrup.) Set aside while you make the waffles.

Preheat your waffle maker.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. 

In another smaller bowl, whisk together the sourdough starter, mashed carrot, milk, canola, and eggs until fully combined. 

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredient bowl and fold until just combined. Do not overmix. 

Grease your waffle iron, top and bottom, with a little canola oil.

Add the batter to the waffle maker. The size of your waffle iron will depend on how much batter you add but try not to overfill. That just makes a huge mess when it overflows. 

Cook according to manufacturer’s instructions until the first set of waffles are golden brown. Remove from the waffle iron and keep warm in a low oven. 

Continue cooking waffles until all the batter is used up. 

Serve with lashing of cream cheese syrup. 

Enjoy! 

It’s the second Tuesday of the month so that means it’s time for Bread Bakers! As I mentioned above, we are sharing Easter breads. Check out the links below for inspiration. Many thanks to our host, Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen.

• Choreg-Armenian Easter Bread by Sneha’s Recipe
• Chocolate Bunny Bread by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Greek Tsoureki by A Messy Kitchen
• Sourdough Choreg-Armenian Easter Bread by Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Sourdough Carrot Cake Waffles with Cream Cheese Syrup by Food Lust People Love
• Orange Blueberry Hot Cross Buns by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Jidase by Magical Ingredients

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

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Feta and Strawberry Tabouli Salad

Feta and strawberry tabouli salad is a great twist on a Middle Eastern favorite. Juicy ripe strawberries brighten the salad, adding color and a welcome sweetness. This is one salad that’s just as good as leftovers!

As much as I love a traditional tabouli salad (which is A LOT!) it’s also fun to mix things up and put a new spin on an old favorite. Adding fresh strawberries was inspired by the fancy salads we enjoy with not only greens but also fruit, nuts and cheese. In this case, the nutty-flavored bulgur wheat is standing in for actual nuts. 

On a completely different subject, let’s talk about the first ingredient, a thing I like to call purple onion. In most recipes it is referred to as red onion or Spanish onion but since my first encounter with same as a child, I’ve called it purple onion. Because it is purple! This is my tiny hill and I am prepared to defend it. 

A Google search quickly revealed that in some European countries it is indeed called purple onion and now I want to know where. Annoyingly, Wikipedia didn’t say. Even BBC Food had the nerve to describe the onion thusly, “Red onions are an attractive, milder alternative to the yellow onion with their shiny purple skin.” Purple. That’s right. 

Have I convinced anyone? Join me on the purple side. It’s more accurate over here. Plus I have tasty salad.

Feta and Strawberry Tabouli Salad

For aesthetic reasons, I chose to use yellow cherry tomatoes for this festive salad. If you only have red ones, no worries. The flavor is what really matters. 

Ingredients

For the dressing:

1/2 medium purple onion, sliced very thinly (about 2 1/2 oz or 70g)

2 tablespoons or 30ml fresh lime juice

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup or 60ml extra virgin olive oil

For the salad:

1 cup or 210g bulgur wheat (3 1/4 cups or 615g when soaked and drained)

1 bunch green onions, just the green part, chopped (about 11/4 oz or 35g)

1 very large bunch (about 5 1/3 oz or 150g) cilantro

8 oz or 227g yellow cherry tomatoes, halved

14 oz or 400g strawberries, hulled and quartered

7 oz or 200g feta, crumbled (I prefer the sheep’s milk type.)

 

Method

In metal or heatproof bowl, cover your bulgur wheat with 1 3/4 cups or 414ml of boiling water and cover the bowl with an upside down plate or some cling film. Set aside. 

Put your thinly sliced onions in a large bowl and pour the lime juice over them. Sprinkle with the salt. Add a few good grinds of fresh black pepper. 

Let the onions marinate in the lime juice for a few minutes. This helps reduced their pungency and sharpness. Now mix in the olive oil. 

Chop your green onions finely and set aside. 

Cut the hard stalks off of the cilantro and discard.  (The tender, narrow stalks near the leaves are fine to leave in.) Wash the cilantro thoroughly several times and dry in a salad spinner or a dry dishcloth.  Chop it roughly. 

Once the bulgur wheat has absorbed all of the water it can, drain it in a strainer and push down on the top to get rid of any excess water. 

Fluff it with fork and leave it to cool. 

Now we can assemble the strawberry tabouli. Add the halved tomatoes to the dressing first. 

Tip in the cooled bulgur wheat, the green onions and cilantro and mix well to coat the wheat with the dressing.

Finally, add the strawberries and feta and toss gently to combine. This tabouli gets better and better as it sits so you can make it ahead without any problems.  

Enjoy!

It’s Sunday FunDay and my friends and I are sharing side dishes for your Easter table. Anything that isn’t a main course qualified so we’ve got you covered from appetizer to dessert! Many thanks to our host, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm. 

• Bunny Cupcakes from Amy’s Cooking Adventures 
• Feta and Strawberry Tabouli Salad from Food Lust People Love 
• Fresh Pea Hummus from Culinary Cam
• Pineapple Bread Pudding from A Day in the Life on the Farm 
• Pork Sorpatel - East Indian from Sneha’s Recipe 
• Potato Salad with Condensed Milk from Palatable Pastime 
• Stir-Fried Balsamic and Ginger Glazed Carrots from Karen’s Kitchen Stories 
• Veggie Niçoise Salad from Mayuri’s Jikoni 
• Whole Wheat Rosemary Garlic Bread Recipe from The Mad Scientist’s Kitchen

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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