Chicken of the Sea Saves the Day

Dark pantry corner

What's this behind the canned peas?

It tastes like chicken!

Sleep schedules aren't the only adjustments to make when clocks abruptly move life ahead one hour. I have trouble springing the dinner routine forward. All of a sudden, it's 6 pm and I need to cook something. I could have sworn it was only 4 o’clock. Time to get creative -- or at least industrious -- and I can only hope there is food to work with.

Finding myself in this predicament last night, I realized I hadn't been out to pick up supplies. Fortunately, my husband could drop by the store and get chicken and a few vegetables for a stir-fry. Unfortunately, he forgot the chicken.

All turned out well; I made a tuna stir-fry of sorts. My emergency can of 365 Everyday Value Chunk Light Tongol Tuna Packed in Spring Water was there in the back of the cabinet. I'd purchased it from Whole Foods after reading that this tuna ranked highest in a canned tuna taste test on Epicurious.com. (Check it out here.) It's touted as firm and flaky, not mushy, moist but not watery.

So I put it to my own test. Albeit, I didn't have much of a choice. But as it turned out, a stash of tuna is great to keep around for mealtimes that show up sooner than I expect.

Tuna Nicoise Plate For Two

1 cup cut fresh green beans

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced

1 (6-ounce) can chunk light tuna packed in water, drained

1/2 lemon

3/4 cup baby arugula leaves

8 to 12 Kalamata olives, pitted and halved

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1 hard-cooked egg, grated or finely chopped (optional)

Cook beans in boiling, salted water until just barely tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and rinse until cold water; drain well and pat dry with paper towels.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic, onion, and beans; sauté until hot and onion is just tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Add tuna; cook just until hot, turning carefully to keep the chunks of tuna intact. Remove from heat; squeeze lemon juice over mixture, drizzle with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, and toss gently with arugula and olives. Season with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle egg over mixture, if using.