Tuna Rillettes

Name: Tuna Rillettes
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 2 6-ounce cans or one 12-ounce can albacore tuna packed in water, squeezed to remove excess moisture; 1 tablespoon minced red onion, more for garnish; 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard; 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, more for garnish; Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper; Crackers or Melba toast

Recipe from Eric Ripert

Adapted by Pete Wells

Tuna Rillettes — Evan Sung for The New York Times

Total Time: 10 minutes
Rating: 4(175)
Comments: Read comments

The chef Eric Ripert proved to have a keen eye and deft hand for all sorts of packaged and prefabricated foods when The Times approached him in 2008 to dream up a meal with products from a Jack's 99-Cent Store. This tuna spread came from that venture, which means these ingredients probably already reside in your kitchen. It is aggressively seasoned with mustard; the recipe calls for Dijon, but Mr. Ripert originally made it with Gold's Deli Mustard. —Pete Wells

Featured in: 5 Cooks, $40, 5 Dishes, 3 Desserts

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

26-ounce cans or one 12-ounce can albacore tuna packed in water, squeezed to remove excess moisture
1tablespoon minced red onion, more for garnish
2tablespoons Dijon mustard
¼cup extra virgin olive oil, more for garnish
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Crackers or Melba toast

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Place tuna in a medium mixing bowl and break up with a fork. Add onion and mustard, and mix until tuna is broken into fine pieces.
Step 2
Add oil and mix with a fork into a paste. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and mix again. Transfer to a serving bowl, sprinkle with more black pepper and chopped onion, and drizzle with oil. Serve spread with crackers or Melba toast.

Ratings

4 out of 5

175 user ratings

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Comments

Manuel6 years ago

Perhaps someone more astute than me can explain--why buy water-packed tuna and squeeze out the water, only to add olive oil, when olive oil-packed tuna is available?

N FLA Patti7 years ago

This calls to mind a wonderful Tuna Spread with Capers from Marcella's Italian Kitchen. Different flavor profile, but equally elegant. She blends drained canned tuna, capers and unsalted butter, though I often add some fresh lemon juice to mine. Super simple and a great resource to have stashed in the fridge for drop-in guests or a picnic-style dinner or appetizer.

Marc7 years ago

This wasn't bad, but if you're looking for the creamy texture of a slow cooked, fatty meat like a real rillette you'll be disappointed. Just call it "tuna-mustard salad" and enjoy.

We pulsed it in a Vitamix to get the smooth texture shown in the picture.

Jane1 year ago

This was great. After processing tossed in a few finely chopped (soaked, drained) salt-packed capers. Really great!

Carol5 years ago

I added chopped fresh parsley and a bit of chopped celery. Left off the oil and added a healthy sprinkling of Penzey's Foxpoint. Delicious.

Maureen McGuire6 years ago

I recently found I have to eliminate onions, leeks and garlic from my diet. For this recipe and going forward any ideas of what I can substitute for the red onion here? The dish reads wonderfully and I would like to try it.

Emily6 years ago

Not the same flavor at all, but I have found I can substitute celery for white onion. It’s a suitable substitute for my own palate.

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