Respect The Can! Chickpea and Tuna Salad From Chef Jose Andres

After meeting Chef José Andrés in Aspen, and attending several of his cooking demos, we were a bit surprised at his liberal use of canned foods. We saw him whip out the can opener several times, for tuna, artichokes, and beans. Later we were told that this is fairly common practice in Spanish cuisine, and José raises a good point:  “We put things (ingredients) in cans when they are at the peak of their flavor”. It’s very nice to know that even professional celebrity chefs take shortcuts!

In this video from MSNBC, Chef Andres shares 3 recipes using canned ingredients, a  White Asparagus Gazpacho, Chickpea and Tuna Salad, and Artichokes with Clams and Jamon Serrano, a dry-cured Spanish ham.

PS:  We asked the chef what the best or his favorite brand of canned tuna was, and he said that he always uses Bonito Del Norte tuna packed in Spanish olive oil. For garbanzo beans, aka chickpeas, he prefers the Goya Brand.

[pro-player width=’550′ height=’353′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKmjMjvrIqY[/pro-player]

Read on for the recipes

Chickpea and Tuna Salad
Serves 2

• 1 medium ripe plum tomato
• 1 14-ounce can of cooked chickpeas, drained
• .5 ounce shallot, peeled and minced
• 2 medium ripe plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 1 quarter green bell pepper, seeded and cut into small cubes
• Half cucumber, peeled and cut into small cubes
• Sea salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons Spanish extra-virgin olive oil plus extra for garnish
• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
• 1 9.15-ounce can of atun claro (tuna packed in olive oil)
DIRECTIONS
Grate one tomato to create a tomato puree. Set aside. In a bowl, combine the chickpeas, shallots, tomato, pepper, cucumber, olive oil and vinegar. Toss. Season with the sea salt. Spread grated tomato on the base of each plate. Top with the chickpea mixture. Remove chunks of the tuna from the can and place over top of the salad. Drizzle with olive oil. Serve.

Artichokes with Clams and Jamon Serrano
Serves 2

• 4 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 teaspoons of minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons of minced shallot
• 1 14-ounce can of artichokes
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 tablespoon of minced parsley
• 12 clams
• 2 ounces jamon Serrano, diced
• Juice of quarter lemon
• Salt to taste
• More minced parsley to garnish
• Olive oil to drizzle over top
DIRECTIONS
Drain the artichokes and reserve the liquid. Add enough water to create one cup of liquid. Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and shallots and cook for a minute. Add the artichokes and saute until the artichokes get a little color. Add the reserved artichoke water, the white wine and parsley. Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. Add the clams and cook for 2-3 minutes until the clams begin to open. Add the lemon juice. Salt to taste. Remove from the heat and place on platter. Sprinkle with diced ham and minced parsley. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Serve.

White Asparagus Gazpacho
Serves 4

• 2 8.8-ounce cans of premium white asparagus
• 1/2 cup Spanish extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• Tips of the canned white asparagus
• Fresh white asparagus
• Spanish extra-virgin olive oil
• Maldon sea salt
• Fresh Spanish tarragon

DIRECTIONS
Drain the asparagus from the cans and reserve the liquid. Reserve the empty cans. Cut the tips off the asparagus and reserve.
Combine the asparagus, the liquid from the can, the olive oil, the vinegar and the salt in the blender. Puree until smooth. Taste for salt and add more if needed. Strain the mixture and place in the refrigerator to chill at least an hour.
Peel the fresh white asparagus and snap off the woody stems. Slice thinly using a mandolin.
Divide the asparagus tips amongst the four soup bowls and stand them up on the base of bowl. Divide the asparagus slices among the four bowls and place along the tips. Drizzle with olive oil. Garnish with Maldon salt and Spanish tarragon. Place the soup in a glass pitcher and pour table side.