CURRIES & STEWS

Greek tuna and vegetable stew

Greek tuna and vegetable stew

Some people might have the time to spend hours slowly simmering away a big pot of stew. Unfortunately we don’t. But just because we’re time poor doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy a rich and robust homemade stew. In fact, in a little over 35 minutes (including preparation and cooking time) we had this glorious Greek stew on the table ready to be greedily gobbled down.

As we’ve always said, eating for pleasure and eating for health don’t have to be mutually exclusive — and this stew is the perfect example. Not only did we absolutely love how it tasted, it’s also packed with ingredients proven to promote health and prevent chronic diseases: oily fish which is rich in omega 3 fatty acids; plant foods including tomatoes, red peppers, onions, garlic, parsley and capers which provide high amounts of vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants; and olives and olive oil which are rich in heart-healthy monounsaturated fat and special bioactive compounds.

But the last thing we were thinking about while we were devouring this stew was its nutritional profile — that was just a wonderful bonus!

Greek tuna and vegetable stew
serves 2
A rustic and richly-flavored Greek stew with bite-size pieces of tuna, red pepper, zucchini and Kalamata olives.
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion — finely diced
1 red pepper — diced
1 zucchini — thickly sliced into half-moons
3 garlic cloves — finely chopped
14 oz (400g) chopped canned tomatoes
1 cup water
1½ tablespoons tomato paste
10 Kalamata olives — pitted and halved
2 teaspoons capers
½ teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
10 oz (280g) fresh tuna — cut into bite-size pieces (or use good-quality canned tuna)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
HEAT 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. ADD the onion and red pepper and cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. ADD the zucchini and cook for 2 minutes. ADD the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. ADD the canned tomatoes, water, tomato paste, olives, capers, oregano, salt and pepper, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil. REDUCE the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, for 12 minutes. ADD the tuna and parsley and cook, uncovered, for a further 4 minutes. STIR in the remaining tablespoon of oil. SERVE with bulgur, rice or crusty bread.