Porthos Tuna in Olive Oil

Wine & Dine Wednesday is about the swellest canned tuna we just started carrying at the shop. I work with a French food importer who stocks the very best of the best, venturing out of France every once in awhile if the product suits their high standards and/or fancy. This Porthos tuna packed in olive oil certainly must have. The packaging caught my eye the moment I spotted it in their booth. Then we started chatting about it and they told me of the exceptional quality. Ding, ding, ding, “We have a winner here!” my brain whispered. Ok, shouted. For we are big tuna fans in our household. Since 1912, Porthos has been one of the largest canned fish companies in Portugal. What I like most about this is in each tin you get 2 big filets. Divine served as part of a Niçoise salad. But yesterday for lunch it was just a simple tuna fish salad sandwich I was craving. Bartlett House here in Ghent is a cafe with a bakery that makes an awesome seeded bread we adore. I look for any excuse to toast a few pieces up. The Porthos tuna is packed in olive oil which keeps the filets nice and moist plus I like using some of that oil when making the tuna salad.

In a bowl add the filets along with a bit of the oil, a big dollop of mayonnaise, a small dollop of Dijon mustard, along with a pinch of salt and a few cracks of fresh ground pepper. Then with a fork and knife break up the filets, incorporating all the ingredients together. Sometimes I add a few cornichons. Serve on toasted bread or over salad greens. Enjoy!

Side note: We almost always have a note in our checked luggage that the TSA has searched and gone through it. They must think, who are these people?! It is comical when we are packing up for a few week stay at Hawthorne. It is like a mini Watson Kennedy in the bag–hand & dish soap, canned tuna and sardines, always a bottle of Grove 45 extra virgin olive oil, French sea salt, Diptyque candles, big tea lights, taper candles, the latest bar soap we are loving, the newest dish towel to catch my eye, a small piece of art, books, the latest Paris Review, and a vintage object we could just not live without.