12 Affordable, Delicious Meals You Can Cook With A Can Of Fish

If you think fancy chefs never reach for a can of tuna when they need to pull together a quick meal, we can’t help but say ”Sorry, Charlie.” We talked to chefs who regularly use canned tuna, salmon and other fishes as entrees and as ingredients in other dishes.

“I’m a big fan of conservas, which are preserved foods, such as pickles, jam or canned foods, which are ‘put up’ in jars or tins so the product lasts longer,” TV personality and chef Andrew Zimmern tells HuffPost, adding that they’re often less expensive by weight than other comparable proteins. “As meat and poultry prices continue to climb, home cooks can find tins of beautiful salmon, tuna – and mackerel, sardines, clams and mussels – in their local markets and save real dollars by incorporating them into their regular meal planning.”

It’s heartening to note that not only is canned fish often inexpensive, but it’s nutritious. “Canned fish contains omega-3s, with benefits include fighting inflammation, skin nourishing, gut healing, helping you feel full longer and more,” said Jen Smiley, founder of Wake Up & Read the Labels.

And then there’s the convenience factor. “The best thing about canned fish to me is that I can always have it on hand to make into a quick dinner,” said Christine Pittman, founder of CookTheStory.If I forget to take the chicken out of the freezer, or if I run out of time and can’t get to the grocery store, having some canned fish on hand always saves the day.”

It’s an affordable option that’s probably already in your pantry

Chef Rossi, owner and executive chef of New York caterer The Raging Skillet, credits canned tuna with helping her keep body and soul together during a cash-strapped time. “When I left home to be a starving artist, I swiped an entire pantry shelf of tuna, which my mother had gotten with coupons,” she said. “I took her Ragu tomato sauce and dried pasta, too. I survived on a concoction of tomato sauce, canned tuna and olives I swiped from the bar next door.”

“Decades later, when I became a chef, I needed to create pasta special one day, so I mixed tuna we hadn’t sold for the lunchtime tuna melt special, marinara sauce, capers and olives to make ‘Starving Artist Pasta Puttanesca.’ It sold out.”

Think canned fish is too fishy? Try these fixes

“If you’re using a good-quality brand of canned fish, it shouldn’t be too fishy,” said Curtis Stone, chef and owner of Maude and Gwen Butcher Shop and Restaurant in Los Angeles. “I suggest relying on the acidity of lemon juice and zest and the brininess of capers to address any ‘fishiness’ issues.”

One tip is to pair canned fish with boldly flavoured ingredients, chef and cookbook author Robin Asbell said. “There’s a reason they put mayonnaise in tuna salad, since it’s got an assertive presence and lots of tang,” Abell said. “Adding in spices, chilies, crunchy vegetables, cornichons and olives all work to play down the fishy qualities.”

“Really, the hidden secret is in the sauce, so I suggest you think about mustard,” Smiley said. “Pour some on top and it’s all you’re tasting.”

What’s best: packed in oil or water?

The great debate among tuna lovers still rages on – oil-packed or water-packed?

Rossi insists on white albacore tuna in water. “I think ‘light’ tuna tastes fishy, and to this day I can tell when my tuna salad was made with light, not white,” she said. “Even the smallest amount of fishiness and I’m out the door.”

Another member of the packed-in-water fan club is Robin Selden, executive chef and managing partner of Marcia Selden Catering. “I love Bumble Bee white albacore tuna in water. It’s not fishy, it never has that canned fish taste – and it’s what I grew up with,” she said.

On the other side of the debate is Davis, who loves Chicken of the Sea in oil. “It’s moister that way,” he said.

For Asbell, it depends on the dish. “If you’re using it in a pasta and want lots of fishy umami, buy it in olive oil and use that oil in the recipe,” she said. “If you’re emphasising other flavours, buy water-packed, drain it well, and marinate it a bit before adding it to the dish.”

pan bagnat

Courtesy of Curtis Stone

pan bagnat

6 standout tuna dishes

Pan bagnat: “I love a good Niçoise salad, and this sandwich is all those great salad flavours packed into crusty and chewy bread,” Stone said. “It’s the perfect make-ahead sandwich to take to the beach or a picnic. The flavours marinate with a bit of time, but it’s just as delicious to eat straightaway.”

Tomato and tuna pasta: “I toss fresh heirloom tomatoes and oil-canned tuna into hot, drained pasta,” Selden said. “The pasta soaks up the olive oil, and the tomatoes almost blanch from the heat of the pasta. Hit it with some red pepper flakes, freshly grated Parmesan and freshly torn basil, and you’ll feel like you’re in Italy.”

Tonnato sauce: This classic Italian sauce is made with anchovies and tuna. “It’s one of the very best summer dishes,” Sandy Davis, chef for New York-based Roxo Events, said.

“I make the classic sauce for cold poached meat and a looser version to dress salads,” Zimmern said. While it came to fame as part of the dish viella tonnato, which is made with veal, you can swap out the meat in place of pasta, rice or beans, and you’ll still have a delicious meal at a lower cost.

Tuna croquettes: “One very nostalgic dish for me is my mom’s tuna croquette recipe, which involves mixing tuna, eggs and breadcrumbs, forming it into small patties, then sautéing,” Selden said. “It’s a very simple and delicious way to get kids to eat fish. It worked for my mom, and to this day we all love them.”

Tuna noodle casserole: “There isn’t a Baby Boomer around who isn’t familiar with good old tuna noodle casserole with crushed potato chips on top,” Davis said. “It’s fast, cheap and tasty. One can – or maybe two if you’ve got extra coins – will feed many folks.”

Tuna salad: “There are those times when comfort is needed, and you just have to break down and make the tuna salad of your grandmother,” Davis said. For me, that means using Miracle Whip, boiled eggs and sweet relish.”

Selden has a different take: “My go-to tuna salad uses Hellman’s mayonnaise — just enough to bind it together — freshly squeezed lemon juice, diced celery, sweet onion, green apple and lots of freshly chopped dill. The addition of tart, crunchy apples and savoury dill really do the trick. Slap that between two pieces of yummy bread and add some potato chips to your sandwich for even more crunch.”

Don't bother cooking fresh salmon for salmon burgers -- canned works perfectly.

Manny Rodriguez via Getty Images

Don’t bother cooking fresh salmon for salmon burgers — canned works perfectly.

6 superstar salmon dishes

Appetisers: “This simple canned salmon dip is always a crowd favourite,” Pittman said. “Another party treat is my lox dip recipe. I add canned salmon along with the lox (smoked salmon), so there’s a lot of salmon flavour, but at a lower cost.”

Creamy pasta sauce: “Warm up sour cream or crème fraîche with dill or parsley, garlic, salt and pepper,” Pittman said. “Then add canned fish until just heated through before tossing with cooked pasta.”

Salmon loaf: “If you want to dress up canned salmon, there’s a Great Depression favourite that my paternal grandmother used to make — salmon loaf with mustard cream sauce,” Davis said. “Use canned salmon, crushed saltines, eggs and mayo.”

Salade Niçoise with salmon tonnato sauce: “Trust me on this: Make a traditional Provençale salade Niçoise with salmon instead of tuna,” Zimmern said. “Dress the egg, tinned fish, potatoes, greens, tomatoes and olives with a tonnato sauce made with salmon instead of tuna. You’ll have your mind blown.”

Salmon burgers

“Mix together a can of salmon, two eggs, breadcrumbs, dill and lemon juice,” Pittman said. “You just need to heat the patties through and then pop them into buns, along with your favourite burger toppings.”

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3 Delicious Pumpkin Recipes That Aren’t In The Least Bit Spooky

We’re finally in the autumn season which means it’s the perfect time to try out some new food and recipes. And when we think of pumpkins, we usually associate them with Halloween.

Environmental charity Hubbub found that around 12.8 million pumpkins were set to be carved out but not eaten, as one in seven people who celebrate Halloween said they don’t even think of pumpkins as food. Only 42% (two in five) realised you can eat a carving pumpkin from the supermarket.

In 2015, only 31% of pumpkins were actually eaten, rising to 46% in 2019 and 59% in 2020. However, more people are celebrating Halloween than ever before (up to 56% in 2020 from 50% in 2019), and those households which celebrate tend to carve an average of just over two pumpkins each.

There’s so much you can do with pumpkins outside of Halloween and we’ve got three recipes to highlight how versatile they are.

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For The Soup Lovers

Soups were made for autumn time, especially this creamy pumpkin soup recipe created by the environmental charity Hubbub. This recipe is all pumpkin with some ginger and honey to add to the flavour.

Ingredients for the pumpkin soup:

  • 250g butter
  • 1 small onion, diced finely
  • 800g pumpkin, peeled and cut into chunk
  • 1-2 tsp runny honey
  • 15g grated root ginger
  • 1 vegetable stock cube or 1l of home made veg stock
  • 100ml single cream
  • black pepper, to taste
  • 2 tbsp freshly chopped coriander (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Lay foil on an oven safe dish and spread the
pumpkin seeds, add a splash of olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste. Put in
oven to toast for 40 minutes.
2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the onions and pumpkin and
cook on medium heat for 3-4 minutes until the vegetables soften but do
not brown.
3. Add the honey, ginger, and vegetable stock and bring to the boil.
Simmer for 15-20 minutes until the pumpkin is soft.
4. Stir in most of the single cream and place in a food processor. Blend
until smooth. Season to taste with black pepper.
5. Serve garnished with a swirl of the remaining single cream, a sprinkle of
coriander if desired, and the toasted pumpkin seeds.

For the fries lovers

Who said chips have to be potato-based? These loaded pumpkin fries from the Primula cheese team will make you forget about your favorite junk food fries. Add in some cheese and jalapenos so you can add to the experience.

Pumpkin Loaded Fries

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Pumpkin Loaded Fries

Ingredients for the loaded pumpkin fries:

  • 1 medium-sized pumpkin
  • 2 tsp cornflour
  • 2 tsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp fajita seasoning
  • 150g Primula Cheese ‘n’ Jalapenos
  • Handful of fresh coriander, to garnish

Method:

  1. Using a sharp knife, slice the pumpkin in half. Scoop out the seeds and pulp.
  2. Remove the ends from the pumpkin, peel and slice into fries.
  3. Place the pumpkin fries in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Let the fries soak for at least 30 minutes, but preferably overnight.
  4. When the fries have finished soaking, pre-heat your oven to 220°C.
  5. Drain the fries and pat dry with paper towels.
  6. Fill a large zip-lock bag with the fries. Add the cornflour, seal the bag and shake to cover the fries. Add the oil and fajita seasoning to the fries and shake well, covering them evenly.
  7. Spread the fries in a single layer on a lined baking tray. Allow the fries plenty of space to ensure they’re perfectly crisp. You may need a couple of trays.
  8. Place in the oven for 10 – 15 minutes, flipping once halfway through, until the fries are crisp and golden.
  9. Remove from the oven. Squeeze over the Primula Cheese and scatter the coriander.
  10. Serve immediately.

For the toast lovers

Another yummy recipe from the Primula team is this Roasted Sourdough Pumpkin recipe. Sourdough took off during the first lockdown and it might be time to go back to it with a twist. This roasted pumpkins sourdough recipe will be your guilty pleasure this autumn.

Roasted Pumpkin Sourdough

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Roasted Pumpkin Sourdough

Ingredients for roasted pumpkin sourdough:

Ingredients

  • 500g pumpkin, peeled and diced
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • Pinch of chilli flakes
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 loaf of sourdough bread, sliced
  • 1 garlic clove, peeled
  • 100g Primula Cheese ‘n’ Ham

Method:

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.
  2. Arrange the pumpkin in a large, shallow baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and scatter over chilli flakes. Add the chopped garlic cloves.
  3. Roast for 25 – 30 minutes, or until tender and lightly charred. Remove from the oven, add a tablespoon of honey and mix well to coat the pumpkin. Set aside.
  4. Toast the sourdough until golden. Remove from the toaster and gently rub with the remaining garlic clove. Top with Primula Cheese ‘n’ Ham.
  5. Serve immediately.
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