Take your boring canned tuna and transform it into something decadent and delicious in less than 10 minutes. Pate or Pasteta in Croatian is a true delicacy, but of course I didn’t know that growing up. It was in second grade when I remember my first taste of liver pate. I wondered why all my friends didn’t have the same sandwich in their lunchbox. Everyday, my Mother schmeared a generous portion of pate on rye bread. I have fond memories of going to our Croatian delicatessen and hearing my Mother tell the owner she wanted a little piece of pasteta.
I eventually stopped eating pate, when I found out it was made of liver. The food suddenly lost its appeal. Decades later, when I returned to Croatia I became re-united with my childhood love. One caveat, it was Tuna pate that pulled at my heart strings and taste buds. Tuna pate seemed to be on every restaurant menu in the Adriatic coast. When it came time to prepare a dish for this World Cup soccer match, I closed my eyes and tried to remember all the foods that brought me joy this past summer in Croatia, and tuna pate was top of mind.
Pasteta is traditionally served with bread, crackers, or vegetables. I enjoy eating mine with gluten free pretzels and cauliflower crackers. Tuna pasteta is served cold pro tip chilling it for a couple days will enrich its flavours. It’s amazing to serve as an appetizer or for Tea party. Here are the ingredients that I used in my tuna pate:
Ingredients
1 Canned tuna in water
1/4 cup cream cheese
1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
2 small Spring scallions- chop the scallions into small pieces
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
Paprika seasoning
Capers on the side
Directions
Drain tuna and place in food processor along with cream cheese. Pulse until well combined. Add remaining ingredients and pulse a couple times until combined and creamy.
Serve on a plate with your favourite gluten free crackers, or pretzels alongside capers. Don’t forget to add a sprinkle of paprika on top on each dollop of pate.
