Recipe: Tuna, rice and asparagus - Quick and tasty

A quick lunch or light dinner idea, easy to make. Delicious hot or cold, and perfect for prepping ahead.

This is the tuna dish I mentioned recently. It is simple, quick to make, and very tasty. Ideal for a quick lunch that can be packed or easily made at home during the week, also suitable for a light dinner. You can eat it straight away, prep it the night before, or make a batch to have on the ready for the next couple of days. It keeps well in the fridge, and it’s very versatile, so it can be easily adapted to what you have at home.

It can also be eaten hot or cold.

Read the story behind this dish → Sometimes I Surprise Myself

Sometimes I surprise myself

Tuna, rice and asparagus - The lunch I didn’t plan, might not repeat, but still remember This was my lunch the other day. Simple, light and very, very tasty. Also, super quick to make, however, not what I originally intended to eat. There is a tuna salad recipe that

Da MangiareJoseph Emmi

Ingredients

• Cooked rice
  • Any type works. I used white rice, but I believe this can work with any type of rice (brown, basmati, leftover rice from the fridge, even sushi rice could work)
• 1 can of tuna in tomato sauce
  • This is what I used, but it can be done with any tuna, with or without sauce
  • If you are using plain tuna, I recommend one packed in oil rather than brine, for added flavour. If it comes in olive oil, even better
  • If you have one of those canned tuna salads and you think it would fit here, go for it
• A handful of fresh asparagus
  • Use as many as you like. I used about 6 spears (the full bunch I had in the fridge)
  • If you don't have asparagus or simply want to try something else, I believe other greens, such as mangetout (also known as snow pea) or green beans can also work
• Extra virgin olive oil
  • For heating the rice, sautéing the asparagus and finishing the dish
• Salt & black pepper
  • No additional explanation needed

Preparation

1. Warm the rice
   1. In a pan or small pot, heat one tablespoon of olive oil and add the rice
1. Use as much rice as you like; just keep a ratio where there’s more rice than tuna.
2. Boil the asparagus.
   1. In a separate pot, boil asparagus for about 5 minutes.
   2. Before you take them out, pinch them with a fork to check they are properly cooked. The fork should go in easily. If after 5 minutes they are still hard, leave a few more minutes.
3. Add the tuna.
   1. Halfway through the boiling time of the asparagus, add the tuna to the rice to warm it up.
   2. Stir them so the flavours combine.
4. Sauté the asparagus.
   1. Once the asparagus is soft, drain it and return the pot to the medium heat
   2. Add one or two tablespoons of olive oil, depending on how many and how big your asparagus are. Add more if you think it is needed.
1. Get the asparagus into the heated olive oil, add salt and black pepper to your liking.
2. Sauté for 2–3 minutes.
5. Assemble
   1. Plate the rice and tuna mixture in a bowl.
   2. Take the sautéed asparagus out, cut them into bite-sized pieces, and place them on top.
6. Finish.
   1. Add a drizzle of olive oil and a final touch of black pepper.

Taste, enjoy and repeat (if there's anything left).