30 minute meals, give or take: bring it, rachael ray

so, I was chatting with Leo last night before dinner and I ran an idea by her for an experimental meal. it wasn't terribly unorthodox or anything, but I've always had this fear of cooking canned tuna. I think that, somewhere along the way, my mom (or dad?) impressed me with the notion that tuna casserole is disgusting. I made some chilled tuna and white bean salad over the summer, and it was delightful, but last night I needed something warm--something I could whip together using the ingredients in my pantry and fridge--preferably in 30 minutes or less. incidentally, it always feels really satisfying to make "something out of nothing;" (that may be a Reichl-ism--credit where it's due, right?) I had a pretty well-stocked pantry, which always feels luxurious in itself, but a few cans later, a little chopping and sauteeing, it was like alchemy. so here's what I did:

Heated the oven to 350. I had a decent can of tuna in olive oil (Cento brand, I believe?) so I drained the oil into a pan over medium-high heat, added a diced onion, and a few minutes later, two smashed cloves of garlic. Then I shook in some dried rosemary, and added a little more e.v olive oil so everything could infuse.

Gentle readers, one day I want to soak my own beans, but yesterday was not the day. I drained and rinsed two cans of northern beans in a colander and then added them to the pan, giving them a stir. Then I turned off the heat and mixed in the tuna, plus another pack of that vacuum-sealed tuna stuff I found in the pantry (I know, it sounds appetizing, doesn't it?) along with a pinch of salt, some grinds of pepper, and a few shakes of red wine vinegar.

(As an aside, I just watched an episode of Arrested Development where Lindsay's boiling a canned ham in a giant pot of water: [Lindsay to Michael, excitedly] "Guess what I'm calling it?" [Michael to Lindsay] "Soup?" [Lindsay] "Hot ham water!" [Buster] "It's so watery, but with a smack of ham!"

I digress. So I poured the contents of the saucepan into a casserole dish. Then in a separate bowl, I added a few handfuls of panko bread crumbs, and grated a bunch of parmigianno reggiano into it. I had some "fresh" parsley in the crisper that was not looking terribly...crisp...so I gave that a rough chop and threw it in, too. Then I noticed a handful of pear tomatoes on the counter that frankly, were past their salad days. I bisected those and artfully placed them on the bean mixture, and then coated all that with the cheesy breadcrumby goodness. And then I added some butter. Yes, thin pats of butter dotted all over the breadcrumbs. That was key.

I popped all that in the oven, and poured myself a refreshing glass of pinot grigio, and plopped down to watch Scrubs until the hearty aromas of a rustic French kitchen filled the house (about half an hour later). When I took the dish out, the breadcrumbs were golden brown and everything was sizzling pleasantly.

verdict: The creamy beans contrasted nicely with the crunchy breadcrumbs, and the tomatoes were roasted and had a nice concentrated flavor. JD raved and helped himself to seconds (thirds?) Orange cat tried to steal tuna and signaled his overwhelming approval with lots of mock-aggression. Two paws up.

What's in your pantry?