Since giving canned tuna a red hot go and loving it – I’ve been excited to venture out and make a few more dishes with our lean fishy friend. First port of call: Tuna Vegie Bake.

I’m so happy I made myself go beyond the fishy smell of canned tuna – it has SO few calories and really adds a nice little punch to some dishes – without it being a million dollars (but, you know, if I had some raw fresh tuna right now I’d be such a happy lady)

So today I baked it lightly with some almost ratatouille style vegies and some cheese. Really made me feel like I was eating something super naughty – but only just over 300 cals a serve – you really can’t go wrong!

Ingredients:

2 tsp olive oil

Medium onion, cut into wedges

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 de-seeded capsicum (approx. 150g), roughly and thickly diced

2 chillies, chopped

Eggplant, roughly chopped into big hunks (approx. 400g)

1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped (approx. 100g)

1 large Zucchini, roughly chopped into big hunks (approx. 350g)

½ cup each of fresh basil and oregano (plus some more for luck)

1 400g tin tomatoes.

Half cup of stock (I used salt reduced vegie stock)

425g canned tuna in springwater, drained, flaked into bug hunks

tuna in springwater, drained, flaked into bug hunks 125g grated light mozzarella cheese

Heat the oil over a medium heat in a heavy based deep saucepan. Add the onions and garlic and cook until soft (should take 3 or so minutes) add the capsicum, chillis, eggplant, carrot, zucchini, and half of the basil and oregano. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and stock and cook until the vegies become tender and the liquid thickens (15 or so minutes)

Pour the vegetable mix to a oven proof dish. Mix in the rest of the herbs and the tuna. Cover with the cheese and pop into a 200°C oven for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and browned slightly.

It’s so light you can serve by itself, or with some steamed greens, brown rice, quinoa, or even some lightly buttered mash. You can also change up the vegies for whatever you have left over in the bottom of the fridge. It’s beautifully simple and easy to manipulate!