Ingredients
| 1 x 425g can tuna in olive oil, drained and oil reserved | |
| 50g butter, softened | |
| 3-4 anchovies (or more if you are a fan) | |
| 1 clove garlic | |
| zest and juice of ½ lemon | |
| 2 tablespoons pinenuts, toasted | |
| 2 tablespoons capers | |
| 2-3 tablespoons pitted olives, chopped | |
| 2 sweetie capsicums (or use bell capsicums) | |
| 1 eggplant | |
| 2 zucchini | |
| 6 leaves Swiss chard or silverbeet |
Italian-style roll ups of sliced vegetables with a filling work well as a nibble for drinks, done here with a tonnato-style filling of canned tuna. If this seems far too fussy (or if you would like something more substantial), try grilling slices of sourdough or ciabatta, spreading with the filling and topping with thinner slices of the roasted vegetables. I won’t judge you, either, if you decide that just the topping on crackers is the way to go.
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Instructions
| 1. | Put the tuna, butter, anchovies, garlic and lemon zest in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. If necessary, add a little oil from the tuna can until it is a good consistency. |
| 2. | Fold through the pinenuts, capers and olives. |
| 3. | Taste and adjust seasonings, maybe adding a little lemon juice if required. |
| 4. | Put into the fridge to firm up for 2-3 hours. This can be made a day or two ahead. Keep refrigerated until required. |
| 5. | Heat the oven 180°C. |
| 6. | Roast the capsicums on a baking tray until they collapse (20-25 minutes). |
| 7. | Cool, peel carefully and cut into thick strips (any rough offcuts can be finely chopped and added to the tuna). |
| 8. | Cut the eggplant and zucchini lengthwise into 5mm-thick slices, lay in a single layer on a baking tray lined with baking paper and brush with olive oil (I usually use the oil from the can of tuna). |
| 9. | Roast alongside the capsicums for 20 minutes until just tender. Cool before using. |
| 10. | Remove the stems from the silverbeet (reserve for another use) and cook the leaves for 3-4 minutes in boiling salted water until tender. |
| 11. | Drain in cold water and dry on a clean tea towel. |
| 12. | Put around 1-2 tablespoons filling in each vegetable slice and roll up. |
| 13. | For the the silverbeet leaves fold in the ends to make a parcel. |
| 14. | VEGETARIAN OPTION |
| 15. | Omit the tuna, butter and anchovies. |
| 16. | Proceed with the recipe using ricotta and adding some parsley or basil leaves to the mix. |
| 17. | A couple of tablespoons of vegetarian hard cheese would add a little umami. |
| 18. | VEGAN OPTION |
| 19. | Omit the tuna, butter and anchovies. |
| 20. | Make a vegan ricotta by soaking 300g almonds, macadamia or cashews overnight in water. |
| 21. | Drain and rinse, then blend with some salt, a little cider vinegar or lemon juice and some nutritional yeast until creamy. Proceed with the recipe. |
Recipes & food styling Ginny Grant / Photography Aaron McLean / Styling Fiona Lascelles