Italian Tuna Sandwich

If you love a tuna sandwich, then you'll love this recipe! A beautiful focaccia stuffed with roasted tomatoes, fried aubergine, fresh mozzarella and tuna fillets. The tuna fillets are tender, firm and flaky and hold together well which makes them perfect for a sandwich filling. Although mayonnaise would work well here I've swapped this for a tangy tomato and lemon salsa instead.  

Makes 2 sandwiches

Ingredients

• 2 small focaccia or 2 small ciabatta
• 1 small aubergine
• 12 cherry tomatoes
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 large mozzarella or burrata
• 180g Rio Mare Tuna Fillets in Olive Oil
• 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
• ½ tsp of oregano
• Juice of ½ a lemon  
• 1 heaped tbsp of tomato paste

Method

1. Add the tomatoes to a tray, drizzle them with olive oil, salt and garlic and roast them in the oven at 180 degrees celsius for about 20-25 minutes or until caramelised, sweet and juicy. 
2. Finely slice the aubergine into round discs then on a medium high heat fry it in the pan. Add a touch of salt and cook them on both sides until they're nice and golden.
3. To make the tomato salsa add the tomato paste, lemon juice, oregano and olive oil to a bowl. Give it a good stir all together until well combined. 
   
4. When the tomatoes are ready, pick the garlic cloves and move to a chopping board then use a knife to crush them and create a purée. Stir the purée into the tomato salsa.
   
5. Gently crush the tomatoes with a fork to release all their juices and slice the mozzarella. 
6. Slice the bread in half to open and toast it in the oven for about 5 minutes. 
   
7. As soon as the bread comes out of the oven, assemble the sandwich. Spread the tomato dressing on the base, layer the fried aubergine first, then the mozzarella, the juicy tomatoes and the tuna fillets. Use the other slice of bread to soak up all the juice released from the roasted tomato and place it on top to close the sandwich, cut it in half and enjoy. 

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