Healthy Families Eat Beans: Tuna and Bean Smash

By: Jodie Shield, RD

What kid could resist something called – smash?  This hot tuna recipe is perfect on a cool evening and it makes a tasty hot lunch too.  I recommend serving it with a tossed salad and some crusty bread.  Encourage your kids to help you make it.  They will love watching the beans get smashed.  What’s your family’s verdict on this recipe?  Hope it’s a hit or should I say smash?

Tuna and Bean Smash

makes 6 three-by-four-inch pieces

Ingredients:

3 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

1 cup chopped mushrooms

2 tablespoons chopped sweet onion

1/2 medium tomato, chopped

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

2 1/4 cup cooked white beans or one 19-ounce can, rinsed and drained

6 1/2 ounces tuna canned in water, drained and flaked

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1/2 cup shredded, reduced-fat Swiss cheese

2 tablespoons plain bread or cracker crumbs

2 teaspoons margarine

Directions:

Preheat over to 400 degrees F.  Grease eight-inch square baking dish with one-half teaspoon oil (or vegetable spray).  In a small skillet, heat remaining 3 teaspoons oil.  Add mushrooms and onion, and saute over medium heat for two minutes, until softened.  Add tomato and garlic.  Continue cooking for one minute.  Puree beans in a food processor.  In a medium-size bowl, mix the sauteed vegetables with the beans, tuna, parsley, and cheese.  Spread into baking dish.  Sprinkle with bread or cracker crumbs.  Dot with margarine.  Bake for 15 minutes or until crusty.

195 calories, 20 g carbohydrate, 18 g protein, 3 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 12 mg cholesterol, 5 g dietary fiber, 76 mg sodium