An Italian Tuna Sandwich Recipe - Sandwich Con Tonno, Capperi e Olive

You might not think of a tuna sandwich as being particularly Italian. However, most Italians, especially those with more demanding jobs, eat out at least once a day and a full meal simply won't work if one has to then head back to the office and be productive. This tuna sandwich is the sort of thing you might find in a trendy downtown eatery. To serve 4 you’ll need:

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 sesame seed buns weighing about 1/5 pound (80 g) each
• 1/4 pound mixed salad greens
• An organically grown lemon
• 2/3 pound (300 g) tuna filets packed in oil
• 1 teaspoon capers, rinsed well
• 2 green pitted olives, diced
• The heart of a bunch of celery
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Wash the lemon and slice it very finely. Sprinkle the slices with salt and let them sit for about a half hour.

In the meantime drain the tuna and crumble it in a salad bowl. Slice the celery and add it to the tuna, together with the capers and the olives. Season the mixture with 3 tablespoons of olive oil, season to taste with salt and pepper, and mix well.

Rinse the salt off the lemon slices and drain them well. Rinse and drain the salad greens too. Add everything to the tuna mixture.

Open you buns, distribute the tuna mixture evenly between them, and spoon the drippings left in the salad bowl over them. Put the tops on the buns and serve at once. If you’re going back to work, something along the lines of good lemon juice or carrot juice might be nice, but if you’re not I’d be tempted to break out a bottle of nicely chilled Prosecco.

Philip Milano wonders, why salt the lemons and later rinse them?
Because the salt will draw moisture from the lemon slices, thus concentrating their lemony flavor.

Kyle Phillips, Your Guide to Italian Cooking

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