Weekly Recipe - Thinking outside the can

By Michael P. Clive

Recently I got a call from my friends at Clover Leaf and they had a big question: “Do you think you could re-invent fast food?” While pondering this question the other shoe dropped: “Can you do it using our tuna, salmon and flavoured tuna products, limit the number of ingredients to five, and get each recipe on the table in five minutes?”

Interesting challenge, and I was certainly willing to give it a try, although I quickly realized they were asking for more than a new way to whip up a regular old tuna melt.

My first approach was to re-think some old classics, dig into the pantry for unexpected ingredients like curry, couscous and wasabi sauce, and look into the fridge for leftovers - keeping in sight the object of the exercise: ready and on the table in five minutes.

I was pleased to see that Clover Leaf offers a wide variety of low sodium and flavoured tuna, as well as skinless, boneless salmon products. Their lineup of flavoured tuna includes lemon & pepper, spicy Thai chili, spicy peanut satay, garlic & hot pepper. This allowed me a bit of a “cheat” for a number of the recipes — pre-packaged flavour and zing that I could add to any other four ingredients.

Tuna and salmon are already staples in most Canadian pantries, and what I came up with proves that with a dash of creativity, a pinch of culinary know-how — and a can opener — anyone can create a tasty, satisfying dish in five minutes or less. So join me in making mealtime more manageable and turning that regular tuna melt into something exciting.

Here are three samples. The rest of my five-ingredient, five-minute recipes can be found at: www.cloverleaf.ca/take5.

Tuna curry in a hurry

Ingredients:
1 tbsp butter
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cans flaked light tuna (spicy thai chili flavour)
1 cup low fat sour cream
1 tsp curry powder

Preparation:
Over medium heat melt butter in a large saucepan. Add garlic. Stir in tuna, sour cream, and curry powder.

Heat until warm and serve over rice or accompany with Naan bread, if desired. Garnish with cilantro (optional). Serves 2.

Tuna mashies

Ingredients:
2 cans flaked light tuna (lemon & pepper flavour)
1 cup leftover mashed potatoes
2 tsp fresh dill, chopped
1 green onion, chopped
2 tsp lime juice

Preparation:
Combine all of the ingredients and stir thoroughly. Serve mixture cold or at room temperature on whole grain (or wheat) toast, cut diagonally, with a side of veggies, as a snack or for lunch. Serves 4. Tip: When preparing mashed potatoes, consider using mini red and white varieties. Leave the skins on for added nutrients in addition to that “rustic, home-style” appearance.

Salmon chick pea salad

Ingredients:
1 can skinless boneless sockeye salmon, drained
1 1/4 cup chick peas, drained
1 cup cherry tomatoes, chopped; reserve ½ a cherry tomato for garnish
1 sweet yellow pepper, half diced and half cut into rings
1/4 cup low fat Italian dressing

Preparation:
Toss together the salmon, chick peas, tomatoes, diced pepper and dressing.

Serve over top of your favourite greens or on its own. Garnish with half a cherry tomato or yellow pepper rings and a sprig of chervil. Serves 2.

Tip: You could use any type of skinless boneless salmon product — Sockeye, Pink or Atlantic.

Michael P. Clive is the resident chef on television show Canada AM.