Causa Rellena (Tuna version)

After making an egg salad Causa Rellena as a side dish last weekend, I’ve had this meal on my mind. So tonight we prepared a Tuna Salad rolled Causa Rellena. This is a meal I’ve enjoyed at Peruvian restaurants before. I’ve prepared the stacked version before, but this was all new approach tonight.

The first step (hours before serving) was to peel and cut up 2 large russet potatoes. Boil these with 3 cloves of garlic for about 30 minutes. Strain. Mix in 1/8 cup olive oil, black pepper, poultry seasoning and 3 tablespoons of Amarillo paste. Use any hot sauce you like to substitute. Squeeze in the juice of a large lime. Smash (I used a hand mixer). Put this in the fridge to cool.

The next step was to make a killer tuna salad. We wanted to go heavy on the veggies to offset the mayo, so we used 2 cans of yellowfin tuna (packed in EVOO), half a red bell pepper, quarter of a red onion, two carrots, a large celery stalk (all fine diced), half a teaspoon of lemon pepper seasoning. Add whatever you like…relish, tomatoes, etc. This was mixed well and put into the fridge.

With everything cool, spread the potato mix on some parchment paper and top with the tuna salad. Leave a little room on the end to finish the wrap. Fold over the potato mix to form a roll. Wrap this with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for a couple hours.

Make a sauce with…

1 cup cilantro leaves and tender stems

3 to 4 jalapeños, seeded and diced

¼ cup/1 ounce crumbled feta cheese

1 garlic clove, chopped

1½ tablespoons lime juice, more to taste

2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano or basil

¾ teaspoon fine sea salt, more to taste

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

½ tablespoon amarillo paste (or any hot sauce)

½ teaspoon honey

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

We added some Greek yogurt as well, to smooth it out.

And blend together.

Once the roll is firm, slice it up, plate it and top with the sauce. This would be good with a simple salad.

What a fun meal! This will absolutely be a great Summer dish.