Start with a can of tuna, a versatile frugal food

Advertiser Staff and News Service

Some comfort foods come with more than one virtue. Tuna is familiar, relatively inexpensive, easy to use and acceptable even to children.

Tuna melt, an open-face sandwich flavored with mustard and capers, is also a frugal choice. Associated Press

Canned tuna comes in three grades: solid or fancy, chunk and flaked.

Albacore tuna, which is the whitest-meat tuna and the most expensive, is a solid or fancy grade. It has a mild flavor, is rich in omega-3 nutrients (important in a heart-healthy diet), and is usually packed in water rather than oil.

However, some concerns have been raised about mercury contamination in albacore. The Environmental Defense Fund recommends limiting albacore consumption to two meals per month for men, three meals per month for women and one per month for children. Albacore tuna is suitable for salads, pasta combos and sandwiches.

The second grade of canned tuna, and the largest-selling grade, is chunk. Chunk tuna, also referred to as light-meat tuna, is from skipjack and yellowfin tuna. It is mild-tasting, but has more flavor than albacore tuna. It is also darker in color than albacore tuna.

Chunk tuna is flakier than solid-packed albacore tuna. Chunk tuna mixes quickly and easily with other ingredients.

If you are planning to make a tuna casserole or you like a smooth-textured tuna salad almost like a pâte, use a chunk tuna. The meat is going to be broken up, so why spend more for the solid albacore?

Flaked tuna is just what it says, bits and pieces of tuna fish. The flaked tuna is generally darker and stronger-tasting.

Canned tuna is a low-fat, high-protein food. A 2-ounce serving has 60 to 70 calories if packed in water or 90 to 110 calories if packed in oil.

Canned wahoo from Samoa has made inroads in markets in Hawai'i; it's more expensive than canned tuna but very tasty.

Here's a new take on an old-favorite, a Dijon-mustard-flavored tuna melt with a mayonnaise-based remoulade sauce. This recipe is adapted from one created by Nancy Silverton, chef of Campanile in Los Angeles.

Tuna Melt

For the remoulade:

• 6 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped red onion
• 1 teaspoon capers, rinsed well and finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped cornichons or other gherkin-style pickles
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh tarragon leaves
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

For sandwich:

• 12 ounces canned tuna, drained
• 4 slices white, whole-wheat, sourdough or pumpernickel bread
• 4 ounces white cheddar cheese, grated

To make the remoulade: In a medium-size bowl, mix together mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, onion, capers, cornichons, tarragon, parsley and lemon juice. Place drained tuna in a medium-size bowl; using your fingers, flake it into large chunks. Add remoulade and mix to combine.

Preheat broiler. Toast slices of bread until lightly browned.

Divide tuna into 4 portions and pile each portion unevenly over the bread. Scatter 1 ounce of cheese unevenly over center of each bread. Heat under the broiler for about 30 seconds or until cheese is melted. Makes 4 open-faced sandwiches.

The following quick, fresh salad was a standard in the home of Marie Simmons, whose new book is "Fresh & Fast" (Houghton Mifflin, paper, $18). Don't be intimidated by the length of the ingredient list — the ingredients are mostly vegetables that need a little prep.

Italian-Style Tuna Salad

• 2 cans (6.5 ounces each) tuna packed in oil, drained
• 3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice or lime juice
• 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 celery rib, trimmed and chopped (about ¥ cup)
• 1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 1 small clove garlic, rushed through a press
• Red-leaf lettuce, rinsed and drained
• 1 cucumber, peeled, trimmed and cut into spears
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch thick diagonal slices
• 3/4 cup pimiento-stuffed green olives
• 2 hard-cooked eggs, peeled, halved

Turn out the tuna onto a plate. Do not flake or stir. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of lemon or lime juice and 2 teaspoon of oil. Sprinkle with pepper and let stand.

Combine celery, red and green peppers, onion and garlic in a medium bowl. Add remaining lemon or lime juice and oil. Toss to blend. Add tuna and toss once.

Arrange lettuce leaves (about 6 of them) on a large serving platter. Spoon the tuna mixture into the center. Garnish the plate with cucumber, carrot, olives and eggs.

Julie Smith of New Roads, La., sent in this blast from the past:

Creamed Tuna

• 1/4 cup chopped green onions (more if desired)
• 1 or 2 tablespoons margarine
• 12-ounce can tuna, drained
• 10 3/4-ounce can cream of mushroom soup
• 1/4 cup milk (this is used to thin soup)
• 1 small or larger can mushroom pieces
• 1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, optional
• 4 slices toasted bread

Saute green onions in the margarine. Place tuna, soup, milk and mushrooms in a double-boiler pot. Add mixture of sauteed green onions. Heat well. Serve on top of toast, hot. Garnish with shredded cheese (optional). Makes 4 servings.

Baton Rouga (La.) Advocate food editor Tommy C. Simmons and Advertiser food editor Wanda Adams contributed to this report.