This easy and quick asparagus side dish uses tonnato sauce, an easy Italian style sauce that comes together in a snap with the use of StarKist Tuna Creation® Lemon Pepper tuna. (Jump directly to the recipe.)
This post was sponsored by StarKist. I was compensated for this post and for developing the recipe. However, all opinions below are completely my own.
I’ve always been slightly amused by “shortcut” recipes, ingredients and kitchen tips. Sadly it always seems like they are more trouble than they are worth. From using Dr. Pepper in your chocolate cake to trying to clean out a ketchup bottle completely so your pancakes don’t taste like they French fries, there’s a long history folks trying to figure out how to spend less time in the kitchen. Which I get! But since I happen to love cooking and baking, I’m probably not the target audience for these sort of trickeries. But even I occasionally look for ingredients and foods that make my life easier. Which is why I was excited to come across Starkist Tuna Creations® Lemon Pepper tuna. I’ve recently discovered tonnato sauce, and though it’s pretty easy to make from scratch, it turns out, using Starkist Tuna Creations® Lemon Pepper tuna, it’s even easier.
In truth, I’m the guy that can often MacGyver a meal out of random stuff that is in the pantry. I’ve done it before. It’s a talent I picked up in college and I’ve surprised friends in the past, whipping up a meal in their kitchen, when they swear they don’t have a single edible thing in the house. Tuna is one of those things that is often floating in the pantry unused which is sad. From making the ubiquitous tuna salad, to adding it to a pasta dish, to making tonnato, it’s a super versatile ingredient that needs to be used more.
If you’ve never heard of tonnato, don’t worry. I hadn’t either, until I stumbled across it in an Italian cookbook a few years ago. Classic tonnato is an Italian mayonnaise-like sauce flavored with tuna, and it traditionally served over veal. But ronnato is more versatile than you think, and is a great dipping sauce for roasted vegetables. The classic ronnata sauce is made with egg yolks, olive oil, lemon juice and seasonings. Starkist Tuna Creation® Lemon Pepper Tuna takes care of the seasonings, meaning all you need to do is toss the tuna in the blender with mayo and a little olive oil you’ve got an easy weeknight side dish for dinner that is fancy pants enough for company. Now that’s a kitchen shortcut I can get behind!
Roasted Asparagus and Egg with Tonnato Sauce
Ingredients
Roasted asparagus
- 1 pound asparagus 455 g
- 1 tablespoon olive oil extra virgi
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Tonnato Sauce
- 5.2 ounces StarKist Tuna Creations® Lemon Pepper 148 g or 2 packs
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
To assemble
- 1 hardboiled egg
- 1 wedge of lemon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Snap off the woody ends of the asparagus with your fingers. Place the asparagus on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil. Sprinkle the salt and pepper over the asparagus then toss the together with your hands to make sure the stalks are coated. Roast in the oven 10 to 15 minutes until just tender (your cooking time will depend on the thickness of the asparagus).
- While the asparagus is roasting, place the tuna, mayonnaise, and olive oil in a blender, and process until a smooth sauce. Taste and adjust seasonings.
- Once the asparagus is cooked, spoon some sauce onto a serving platter and place the asparagus on the sauce. Chop the egg into wedges and place over the asparagus. Serve with a wedge of lemon, to be squeezed over the vegetables and egg right before eating. Spoon the remaining sauce in a bowl to serve along with the asparagus.
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way says
Well, I love tuna but not ordinary tuna. *sigh* I’m a tuna snob. I like Genova tonno. It all started at Costco — I know Costco!! They had these multi-packs of Genova tonno in olive oil. OMG after the dry tasteless tuna we’d been eating this was nirvana. And then Costco did what Costco always does — it stopped handling it. 🙁 Now they handle the typical stick-in-your-throat tuna. I haven’t tried your tuna. If you say it’s good I’ll trust you. But if you get the chance. Get the Italian tuna in olive oil. I love following you on Instagram. No, I’m not a lurker!!!!
Hermes Louis says
I LOVE ROASTED ASPARAGUS, THIS IS SOMETHING ILL TRY!