Copyright dailyrecord
Whipping up a quick snack when hunger strikes often means making a compromise. It's either not very tasty, or the ingredients cost an arm and a leg. However, renowned Spanish chef Dani García has let us in on his secret recipe for a luxury toastie that can be whipped up with just a few store cupboard staples. Dani, who is at the helm of several Michelin-starred restaurants including the Smoked Room, which boasts locations in Dubai and Madrid, reveals that the scrumptious dish revolves around a humble tin of tuna. What takes Dani's recipe from "emergency snack" to gourmet delight is the addition of his "foolproof" homemade mayonnaise recipe. If your tuna was packed in oil, you can use that to give your mayonnaise an even more intense - and impressive - flavour. Dani explains that the trick lies in mastering the temperature of the ingredients and respecting the key proportions of what he dubs a "foolproof" mayonnaise recipe: 60% oil and 40% egg, both at room temperature. "This way, it never curdles," he said. Dani typically whips up his mayo with sunflower oil and a few drops of sherry vinegar or lemon juice. Alternatively, he suggests, you can experiment with using the oil that the tuna was canned in. Once the mayonnaise is ready, the chef toasts rustic bread and piles on a generous layer of canned tuna, a smidgen of miso paste to impart an intense umami flavour, and finally, a layer of mayonnaise, which is then grilled for a few seconds with a blowtorch. "Just five minutes," promises Dani, assuring a meal that's simple to prepare, requires minimal effort, yet still "looks amazing. One tin of tuna. One egg (at room temperature). 90 ml of sunflower oil. A few drops of sherry vinegar or lemon juice. Salt, to taste. Two slices of rustic bread. 1 teaspoon of miso paste. Begin by making the mayonnaise. To do this, put the egg in a blender and add the sunflower oil, salt, and a few drops of sherry vinegar or lemon. Blend the ingredients without moving the blender arm until the mixture emulsifies, then gently whisk. You can use the oil from the tin of tuna to enhance the flavour. Toast the slices of bread. Dani uses a toaster, but you could also grill them. Spread a thin layer of miso on the bread. Drain the tuna and place it on top of each slice. Layer a generous amount of mayonnaise over the tuna and grill for a few seconds, using a kitchen blowtorch, until lightly browned. Serve immediately. Tinned tuna is a convenient pantry staple due to canning methods that maintain its texture and taste, while providing a concentrated source of high-quality protein. Adding to its health benefits, tuna offers a significant amount of omega-3 fatty acids, essential for the proper functioning of the cardiovascular system and for reducing LDL cholesterol, known as "bad cholesterol."
