Canned tuna is often reserved for quick repairs, while we also seek to prepare healthy and delicious dinners. A Spanish chef, also a nutritionist, offers a gratin of fake zucchini ravioli stuffed with tuna, ready in less than 30 minutes.
This expert is Marta Verona, winner of the sixth edition of MasterChef España. She states: “One of my favorite recipes with canned tuna is this zucchini ravioli gratin.”. She replaces the dough with thin strips of zucchini, garnished with a tuna-tomato mixture and covered with gratin cheese, for a light dish, rich in protein and low in carbohydrates.
Zucchini ravioli with tuna: the gratin recipe in 25 minutes
For two servings, Marta Verona uses a large zucchini, two cans of natural canned tuna, 200 g of pulped tomato, 100 g of gratin cheese, a few cherry tomatoes and oregano. Preparation takes 15 minutes, assembly 5 minutes and cooking 5 to 10 minutes at 200°C, or 25 to 30 minutes in total. A serving is around 200 to 220 kcal and 22 to 25 g of protein.
To form these “ravioli”, the chef mixes the drained tuna, tomato and oregano until you obtain a homogeneous stuffing. She cuts the zucchini into thin strips, preferably using a mandolin, then places two strips crosswise on the plate. A spoonful of stuffing in the center, then the strips folded over. The ravioli are lined up in a dish, covered with cherry tomatoes and cheese, then put in the oven until the surface browns.
Canned tuna and mercury: Marta Verona’s explanations
Marta Verona explains: “The larger the bluefish, the more mercury it will contain. This is because the big fish eats the little fish. The varieties of blue fish with which we must be most careful are bluefin tuna, swordfish, cazón or pike.”. For the canned tuna, she reassures by saying that it is prepared “with much smaller varieties of tuna like white tuna or light tuna. So it contains a much lower amount of mercury.”
Marta Verona adds: “If a box contains fifty-two grams, its amount of mercury will be around 0.15 micrograms, far from the tolerable weekly intake of mercury, which is around 90 micrograms for a seventy kilo person”. She recommends sticking around five to six cans of tuna per week depending on weight, which leaves room for this zucchini ravioli gratin.
Enjoy zucchini ravioli gratinated with tuna
Served straight out of the oven, these au gratin zucchini ravioli offer a dinner for two people. Each serving will provide 22 to 25 g of protein, 7 to 9 g of fat, 6 to 8 g of carbohydrates and 2 to 3 g of fiber. Leftovers will keep in a cool place for one or two days in an airtight container. And freezing is not recommended.