Like I mentioned in my last post, hummus is one of those versatile recipes that can be used a dozen different ways. When I made the batch for the Request for Hummus post, I wanted to use the hummus for more than just a meze (a Turkish or Greek… why does it make me nervous to type both of those names back to back… dip or snack food), but as a part of a larger meal. What came to mind was a sandwich that I’d fiddled with before, but hadn’t yet perfected. What it needed was a silky layer of hummus to really pull all the flavors together, and voila, the Mediterranean Tuna and Hummus Sandwich was created. You’re really going to like this one.
The sandwich has three main components, the flat bread, the hummus and a Mediterranean-style Tuna Salad. The flat bread could be bought from your local store, or substituted out for a nice crusty roll, OR you could use some of the fantastic Whole Wheat Pizza Dough that I wrote about for stocking your pantry. As I’ll describe below (or click here for a “how to” recipe for Using Frozen Pizza Dough), you simply roll out the dough, season it with whatever dried herb mixture you prefer, and bake it until crispy. It’s delicious! The hummus, while you could buy it from the store, is so easy to make at home that once you get this recipe (Marie’s Hummus) down you’ll never look at the pasty stuff from the grocery store in the same way again. The last part, the Mediterranean-style Tuna Salad, is included here. If you’re not a big fan of the traditional mayonnaise-based tuna salad, this one is for you.
While I actually am a fan of a good, rich, mayonnaise-based tuna salad sandwich (in fact I think that’s what we’re having for dinner tonight) there are times when I want something a bit different, and that’s when I use this Mediterranean-style Tuna Salad recipe. It has a nice, briney bite from kalamata olives, a little feta cheese gives it a creamy-richness, and there’s plenty of crunch from vegetables like onion and celery. In fact, you’ll be surprised by how much salad one little can of tuna can create since it is well supported by a crunchy cast of characters. The salad is a cinch to toss together, the flavors get better if they have a chance to hang out for a bit, and it’s great to serve over lettuce for a large salad, or you can serve it with crackers for a snack or appetizer, OR even better you can serve it as a part of a great, layered open face sandwich like the one shown here.
Mediterranean-Style Tuna Salad
Ingredients:
3 eggs, hard boiled and separated
1 can tuna in water, drained
2 sticks of celery, finely diced
¼ cup feta, crumbled
¼ cup kalamata olives, pitted and diced
1 cup English or hot house cucumber, diced
½ small onion, diced
¼ cup olive oil
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. herbs de Provence, or other dry herb blend
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Separate the egg whites from the yolk, and discard two yolks. That is where most of the fat and cholesterol reside. Use them if you want, the salad will be even more delicious. I discard them here to lighten the salad. Finely dice the remaining yolk and whites. Add them to a large bowl.
- Add the tuna, celery, feta, olives, cucumber and onions to the bowl and toss to combine.
The salad ingredients.
Tossed to combine
- Whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, herbs, salt and pepper in a small bowl to combine.
- Toss the salad with the dressing and enjoy!
Click here for a printable Mediterranean Tuna Salad recipe.
Mediterranean-Style Tuna and Hummus Sandwich
Ingredients:
One portion Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
1 cup Marie’s Hummus
1 batch Mediterranean Tuna Salad
1 tsp. Herbs de Provence blend
1 cup salad greens or arugula
Olive oil to taste
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350º.
- Roll out the dough into a wide oval, about ¼ inch thick. With a fork (or docking tool) poke holes all over the surface of the dough. This will keep it from bubbling up and distorting. Brush the dough lightly with about 1 tsp. of olive oil. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and the Herbs de Provence over the dough. Either slide the dough directly onto a pizza stone in your hot oven, or place it on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and then into the hot oven. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until just browned in spots. Remove the crust to your work area.
The prepared dough for flat bread.
Note that the shape of the dough changed significantly. 🙂 This is what makes it “rustic”… When things don’t go as planned just call them “rustic” and they’ll still taste as good.
- Spread the hummus in a thin layer over most of your crust, leaving a 1 inch border around the edges.
Leave a thin border around the edges for a good place to hold onto your open faced sandwich.
- Mound the Mediterranean Tuna Salad on top of the hummus, leaving a narrow border around the edges so that the hummus is visible.
Each added “layer” should leave a little of the previous layer visible so you can see a bit of everything.
- Mound your salad greens or arugula on top of the tuna salad and drizzle it lightly with olive oil.
I used hearts of romaine here for the last layer, but my favorite is arugula. Water cress would be great too!
- Cut into “slices” and serve. Enjoy!
Click here for a printable Mediterranean Style Tuna and Hummus Sandwich recipe.
If you want to find an easy “recipe” for using your frozen from scratch pizza dough, click here: Using Frozen Pizza Dough.
One delicious open face sandwich. You can make smaller sized ones for individual portions if you want to be fancy, or make one large one like this and cut it into quarters or long slices to serve family style.
The Sheep Are Out... 
That does sound tasty.
I am a fan of mayo tuna salad. And pretty simple at that. Just mayo, tuna & finely chopped celery for crunch, and its fresh, lightening effect. I would eat and enjoy your tuna salad were it put in front of me, though.
We enjoy gyros and related flatbread sandwiches, though. I’ll bet your hummus slathered on some herb-seasoned flatbread with fresh greens and grilled chicken would be deeelicious.
That sounds awesome. I’ve not tried this before, but every now and then I see something about grilled pizza where you cook/grill the crust on the hot grates of your bbq. I bet that would be delicious if you grilled the chicken first, then grilled the dough on the flavorful grate… Hmmm….
Or, if you take The Mile End’s recommendation and turn chicken skins into gribenes, then reserve the excess fat as schmaltz, you could brush that dough with schmaltz before throwing it on the grill…. that would be mighty tasty, too.
Have you ever tried one of those chicken skin crackers? I’ve seen it done on TV, and it seems like one of those “chefy” things to do… like I’m sure it tastes good, but is really only worth the effort if you have a cadre of soux chefs on hand. I think that Dave would like it a lot, but I’m not quite convinced for myself.
The gribenes? No, I haven’t tried it yet. We rarely cook our chicken with the skin on, though. The next time I flay a chicken to roast, I might make a gribene and save the schmaltz. One suggestion, again from Mile End, for gribenes is to mince them and sprinkle them over salad. That sounds tasty, too. Not unlike bacon.
What I have wanted to try for awhile is to spatch cock (spelling?) a chicken and cook it “under a brick.” That’s supposed to give it a really nice crispy skin, but also cut down the cooking time of the bird. While I don’t have any bricks handy, I do have a nice and very heavy cast iron skillet that will do the job nicely.
I like spatchcocking chicken. Even without the brick, spatchcocking cuts down on its cooking time and reduces your risk of food poisoning. And you can still have your stuffing if you put it under the bird as it roasts.
The brick part I’m more skeptical about. Not that it doesn’t work. But while it cuts down on the time for the bird, you still have to preheat the brick, then lay it on top of the bird while it’s smoking hot.
It may very well give a really crispy skin. But I don’t care about that enough to bother with the brick. My chicken’s skin gets crispy enough without it.
If I rub my spatchcocked chicken in butter, salt, fresh coarse-ground pepper, and minced herbs and garlic (garlic optional), then pour a glass of white wine over it, and a glass a glass of water, cover and braise it, then remove the cover and crisp up the skin… delicious. Even better the next day, cold, picnicking on the grass, along with olives, cheese, crusty bread, fruit ‘n veg, olive oil ‘n vinegar….
I especially like the part about taking it as picnic fare. Sounds like you need to take your wife on a date.