Quesadilla recipe and Asian-inspired pasta, a la Century Corned Tuna

I seem to have gotten mixed reactions from my friends about this new product in the market called corned tuna. The purists say it defiles the sacredness of their favorite corned beef. However, it must be noted that local canned tuna manufacturers have long made variations of Filipino dishes – among them tuna afritada, sisig, Bicol Express, adobo, mechado, to name just a few. The fact that they continue to fill up our supermarket shelves attest to the fact that people flock to them like they would feast on a Jollibee hamburger. Especially people who swear by a strict tuna diet to keep slim.

Despite some scientific findings about tuna having high mercury content, tuna remains one of my favorite food. Tuna lumpia, tuna omelet and most recently, the tuna kimchi chigae are just some of the dishes I cook repeatedly at home. During last Saturday’s Century Tuna Bloggers’ Cook-off, it was time to discover again some kick-ass tuna-based dishes. Imagine scanning the table for 20 or so ingredients and being able to decide right there and then what to cook, based on the short time allotted. Modesty aside, the finished product certainly looked and tasted like something close to gourmet! 😀

So here it is, our group’s recipes. We hope Century Tuna will be able to adapt them in their test kitchens in the future (if they haven’t, that is) 😉

Corned Tuna Quesadilla with Tomato-Pear Salsa
Preparation/cooking time: approximately 20 minutes

Put a piece of flour tortilla on a plate. Sprinkle with grated cheese, and then regular corned tuna. You may use the chili variety if you want it more spicy. Add in diced red and green bell peppers, to add more flavor and color. Top with very thinly sliced pear. Cover filling with another tortilla then press down.

Put the sandwich in a heated nonstick pan and toast until slightly brown. Flip to the other side. Cut into wedges before serving. Serve with tomato-pear salsa.

To prepare salsa: Thinly dice tomatoes, pear, red and green pepper. Season with salt and pepper. Add in a little olive oil, then mix.

Corned Tuna Tagliatelle Pasta with Spinach, Asparagus, Almonds and Miso
Preparation/cooking time: 30 minutes
We swear this is as good as Yellowcab’s Charlie Chan pasta!

Cook pasta until al dente, approximately 10-12 minutes. Set aside. In a heated pan, toast almonds then slice into slivers. Set aside.

Sauté garlic, onions, green onion stalks and sliced asparagus. Add a can of Century Corned Tuna Chili. Add in soy sauce, white wine, miso and a pinch of paprika. Put spinach leaves last, and saute for another three minutes. Toss in cooked tagliatelle pasta and mix. Top with slivered almonds.

(For more recipes, click on the Century Tuna website)

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