Tuna & Garbanzo Hash

Sometimes I am very organized and I plan out the entire dinner menu for the coming week. I take an hour on Sunday afternoon and do as much prep work as I can so that dinner doesn't turn into a work week hassle.

And then there are times when no planning is done, no prep work gets done and I spend the week jumping through self-induced hoops to figure out what meal is going to make it to the dinner table.

On those occasions, I reach for one of my favorite "go to" meals. I usually have all the ingredients in the pantry to make Tuna & Garbanzo Hash. Normally when you see the word "hash" in a recipe you are expecting a potato to be in there somewhere.  In this case I substituted the potato with garbanzo beans (a.k.a. chick peas) to make this hash.

The flavors of this meal are influenced by sweet, smokey Spanish paprika, briny capers and black olives, garlic, the zing of a lemon and are reminiscent of Spanish and Mediterranean food. 
Best of all - it comes together in under 30 minutes. Enjoy!

• 15-16 oz of canned, tinned or pouch tuna* (preferably Spanish tuna packed in olive oil)
• 1 - 15 oz can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large vidalia or Spanish onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2-4 mini sweet peppers, diced 
• 2 large carrots, diced 1/4"
• Salt
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1  heaping tablespoon smoked sweet paprika
• 2 teaspoons of capers + 1 teaspoon brine
• 1/4 cup sliced black olives
• Zest and juice of one lemon
• 1/2 cup sherry or white wine

1. Heat a stainless steel skillet  pan over moderate heat
2. Add oil, onions, garlic, peppers, carrots and a light sprinkle of salt. 
3. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until the onions have softened.  
4. Incorporate tomato paste, paprika, and garbanzo beans, stir well to blend, cook for 5 minutes over medium low heat. 
5. Raise heat to medium high and add remaining ingredients, and bring to a bubbling simmer Lower heat and add in tuna, gently stirring to incorporate. 
6. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes to allow ingredients and flavors to meld.

SERVE:
Sprinkle with a light dusting of sweet smoked paprika, top with a few strands of lemon zest and a squeeze of a lemon wedge, serve with white rice or on thinly sliced toasted french bread and chilled white wine.

*Recipe Tip: Whenever I can splurge a little I use Spanish tuna, that comes packed 
in olive oil. The flavor is far superior to the tuna that lines our supermarket shelves, if you have the opportunity to splurge a little, give it a shot.