Posted on by Myfrenchkitchen

Tuna salad and baked sweet potato.

Everybody has a tuna salad recipe. Not everybody loves a tuna salad though. But when its hot and you’re in the middle of a heat wave and not in the mood for cooking, a tuna salad is a quick and tasty option. Of course you can do anything with a can of tuna to turn it into a salad to give it interest and flavour. This is my version without mayonnaise. We dont always have to add mayonnaise to everything. Here in Provence we rely much on the freshness of herbs and of course olive oil!

Recipe

  • One medium sweet potato, cut in four, lengthwise
  • Olive oil
  • One can of tuna
  • One large spring onion
  • One or two baby red sweet peppers
  • One heaped TBSP of capers
  • Chopped fresh parsley or fresh dill
  • One TBSP pumpkin seeds
  • One TBSP sunflower seeds
  • One TBSP dried currants
  • For the vinaigrette:
  • Olive oil
  • One TBSP of mustard
  • One tsp of honey
  • Cider vinegar
  • Salt and pepper
  • Salad leaves of your choice
  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degr C.
  2. Place the four slices of sweet potato, cut side up in an oven pan, drizzle with olive oil and season lightly with salt.
  3. Bake in the oven for 40 minute or until tender.Leave to cool down completely.
  4. Drain the can of tuna and flake with a fork.
  5. Slice the spring onion and the baby sweet peppers and add to the tuna.
  6. Add the capers and chopped herbs to the tuna mixture and mix together lightly.
  7. Add the seeds and currants.
  8. Mix the ingredients for the vinaigrette in a bowl and add little by little to your tuna. Don’t add too much vinaigrette so it gets soggy.
  9. Serve the tuna salad on top of the roasted and cooled sweet potato with some fresh salad leaves and extra vinaigrette on the side.

Serves 2

Pinch of salt:

  1. Change the ingredients and quantities to your preference.
  2. Serve a slice of sweet pepper on a plate and spoon the tuna salad on top.
  3. Dont add too much vianigrette to prevent it from being soggy. At the table more vinaigrette can be drizzled over the salad and sweet potato.
  4. Eat cold or at room temperature.
  5. Use shredded cooked chicken breast instead of the tuna.
  6. Serve with crusty country bread.
Posted on by Myfrenchkitchen

Toasted country bread with goats cheese, prosciutto and figs.

This is the last of our figs. So why not use it for a recipe that involves a delicious country bread we all love. Homebaked of course, or like I did, buying it from our boulangerie(bakery) who bakes much better bread than I can ever do! We ate it as a late afternoon snack after we had a very meager lunch. Or you can have it for lunch served beside a green salad. It is so simple and quick, I’m almost too embaressed to post it, but if you’re like me and prefer simple and quick, but still delicious, this recipe is for you.

Recipe

  • Four slices of crusty country bread.
  • Goats cheese
  • 4 slices of prioscutto ham
  • 12 small figs or 8 large ones
  • honey
  • freshly milled pepper
  • roquette sprouts
  1. Toast the country bread on both sides.
  2. Leave to cool and spread or places slices of goats cheese on the toasts.
  3. Tear the prioscutto ham into pieces so you don’t pull the whole slice of ham off the bread with the first bite.
  4. Break open the figs and place on the prioscutto ham.
  5. Drizzle with honey, sprinkle with freshly milled pper and top off with some roquette sprouts.

Serves 4 people

Pinch of salt

  1. Serve as a lunch with a green salad and pungent vinaigrette.
  2. Use a baguette instead of country bread.
  3. Use ricotta instead of goats cheese.
  4. Use other fruits like peaches or plums or even strawberries instead of figs. See my post, Baguette with red fruit and parma ham
  5. Leave out the sprouts and place under the grill for a few minutes.

The Provencal market

If there is anything that I adore, it is browsing the provencal market with a basket in hand. Even if you go home with an empty basket, the ambiance and joy of a market is already a gift to take home. There is something for everyone, from fresh local produce to meat and cheese, flowers and clothes, leather and pottery, nik-naks and art. I bought some sunflowers from Carpentras, a huge bunch and it is on this high note that I say goodbye to summer !

à bientôt

Ronell