Ventresca White Tuna Belly & Chile Lettuce Cups
Makes 6 Servings
Ventresca white tuna belly is the king of canned tuna. It’s not for sandwiches, but instead for salads & tapas like this one. Here the richness of the tuna belly is offset by the smokiness, fruitiness & kick of the aji panca chile paste. Coarse-ground Spanish-style breadcrumbs (migas) add crunch.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 Head Romaine Lettuce (or a bag of romaine hearts)
- 6 Slices White Sandwich Bread, crusts removed
- Oil (olive oil, canola oil, grapeseed oil, etc)
- Aji Panca Paste
- 1 tin Ventresca Tuna Belly, drained & patted dry
DIRECTIONS
1
Preheat your oven to 425°F.
2
Peel the outer leaves off the romaine bunches until they start to lighten in color. Separate the inner leaves into two-leaf “boats”.
3
Make the Migas (Spanish Bread Crumbs):
Lay the slices of bread out on a cooling rack on a cookie sheet. Move the sheet to the oven and toast the bread until it’s completely dried out & the edges have browned.
Move the bread to the food processor and pulse it into pebble-sized shards.
When you’re getting close to serving, put the breadcrumbs into a hot, oiled skillet over high heat. Toast them, tossing frequently until well browned. Remove the pan from the heat.
4
Lay the paired leaves out on your serving dishes.
5
Separate the ventresca tuna into large flakes.
6
Top each boat with about 2 flakes of ventresca tuna belly. Brush some of aji panca paste onto the ventresca.
7
Sprinkle with the bread crumbs.