Canned fish as you’ve never seen it before

There is a misconception about what one can do with canned fish. We consider cans a little boring – a fast snack, associated with students looking for bargains. Is that all they are?! We decided to prove you wrong. Let’s take a trip through various recipes from different places of the world, all of them using guess what as a main ingredient? That’s right – canned fish!

We’ll start with:

Mediterranean Mackerel Salad

Mediterranean food consists of entrees like fish and white meat paired with combinations of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts. Olive oil is an integral part of traditional Mediterranean dishes, and it takes the place of butter or vegetable oil in the cooking process. Red meat isn’t a regular part of traditional Mediterranean cuisine, and is usually consumed only once or twice a month, and on special occasions. Red wines such as malbec and syrah are the wines of choice. 

Most healthy diets include a combination of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish and other white meats, and limit unhealthy saturated and trans fats. The Mediterranean diet goes a step further by placing emphasis on omega-3 fatty acids and other sources of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. These “good” fats lower the risk of disease and help contribute to overall heart health.

·        3 cups cooked white beans

·        2 tins of mackerel fillets packed in oil

·        ? cup finely diced red onion

·        About 15 Kalamata olives, halved

·        About 12 grape tomatoes, halved

·        ? cup extra virgin olive oil

·        Juice of one lemon

·        1 large garlic clove

·        2 teaspoons fresh minced rosemary

·        ? teaspoon salt

·        ? cup chopped flat leaf parsley

·        Salt and pepper for seasoning

·        Crumbled feta cheese for serving (about 1/2 cup or more if you like)

Combine the beans, onion, olives and tomatoes in a medium mixing bowl. Set aside.

Put the olive oil, rosemary, garlic clove, salt and lemon juice in a blender. Drain the oil from the tinned mackerel and add also. Process until smooth. Break the mackerel fillets into medium chunks and gently stir them into the beans. Stir in the chopped parsley. Refrigerate for about an hour. When ready to serve, season with salt and pepper. Top each serving with the crumbled feta.

Our next specialty:

Spicy Asian Salmon Meatballs

Asian cuisine includes several major regional distinctions: East Asian, Southeast Asian, South Asian, Central Asian, and Middle Eastern/Western Asian. Ingredients common to many cultures in the East and Southeast regions of the continent include rice, ginger, garlic, sesame seeds, chilies, dried onions, soy, and tofu. Stir frying, steaming, and deep frying are the common cooking methods.

While rice is common to most Asian cuisines, different varieties are popular in the various regions. Basmati rice is popular in the subcontinent, Jasmine rice is often found across the southeast, while long-grain rice is popular in China and short-grain in Japan and Korea.

Curry is a common dish in southern, southeastern Asia and Japan and also found to some extent in other East Asian cuisines. Curry dishes with origins in India and other northern South Asian countries usually have a yogurt base while those in southern India, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia generally use coconut milk as their foundation.

Sauce 

·        ? cup pineapple juice (or orange juice)

·        ? cup tomato sauce

·        a pinch of brown sugar

·        1 tablespoon sriracha

·        2 tablespoons soy sauce

·        ? teaspoon ground ginger

Meatballs

·       2 cans of salmon

·        ? cup panko bread crumbs

·        2 green onions, finely chopped

·        1 tablespoon minced garlic

·        ? teaspoon ground ginger

·        1 teaspoon sesame oil

·        1 egg

1.     Preheat oven to 180C. You can either coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray or line it with foil or a silicon baking mat. Set aside.

2.     Combine all the ingredients for the meatballs in a medium bowl. Using clean hands, stir until well combined (add more panko if necessary). Pack tightly and roll into meatballs (will make 10-12 meatballs). Place the meatballs onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 15-18 minutes.

3.     In the meanwhile, prepare the sauce. Combine all the ingredients into a small pot and bring to a gentle boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for about 8-10 minutes, stirring often.

4.     Serve meatballs immediately with the sauce and top with sesame seeds and green onions.[1]

And final:

French-style Canned Sardines Crostini

French food culture, according to UNESCO, is known for 'bringing people together to enjoy the art of good eating and drinking' and the power to create 'togetherness, the pleasure of taste, and the balance between human beings and the products of nature'.

Traditional French culture places a high priority on the enjoyment of food. An interesting fact is that France has a different cheese for every day of the year.

Ten billion baguettes are produced each year in France. By law, a traditional baguette can only have three ingredients – flour, yeast and salt – and must weigh 250 grams. While French cuisine is often associated with rich desserts, in most homes dessert consists of only fruit, yogurt or sometimes a few squares of natural dark chocolate. The French enjoy eating horse and rabbit. It is normal to see these items on a restaurant menu. Wine is considered an important part of the French meal. "Wine ...the intellectual part of the meal." – Alexandre Dumas, 1873.

·        2 cans sardines

·        3 tablespoons basil

·        1 teaspoons chiles

·        The juice of ? lemon

·        3 tablespoons mint, organic

·        1/2 teaspoon coconut sugar

·        ? teaspoon sea salt

·        1 tablespoon olive oil, extra virgin

·        Baguette French Bread

·        4 cherry tomatoes (chopped in little pieces)

·        Ruccola 

Mix the basil, chiles, lemon juice, mint, the coconut sugar, sea salt and olive oil. Blend or stir until smooth.

Chop the baguette and bake until crispy. Spread the sauce on the baguette and then add the chopped sardines, cherry tomatoes and ruccola. Voila! You have the perfect French Crostini made in just 15 minutes.[1]

We hope you find our article useful and fun. If you feel inspired to try some of the recipes above, take a look at our fish cans on our website: www.slaviankabg.com

[1] Recipe from Pinterest

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[1] Recipe Credits to https://www.mjandhungryman.com

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