Mediterranean Tuna Panini

I have always loved tuna - growing up my mom made me a tuna sandwich in my lunch pretty much everyday and I never got sick of it. This is what I might call a 'grown up' tuna sandwich, missing the fat from mayo/salad dressing and the bonus of healthy, more sophisticated flavors. I don't currently own a panini press, but I think one is in my near future. Since I didn't have one, I used another pan weighed down with heavy cans to press the sandwich. I'm in love with the High 5 fiber bread from Great Harvest, and it was perfect with this sandwich! This recipe is from Eating Well, July/August 2007.

Mediterranean Tuna Panini
serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 can tuna, drained
• 1/2 plum tomato, chopped
• 2 TB crumbled feta cheese
• 1 TB chopped marinated artichoke hearts
• 1 TB minced red onion
• 1/2 TB chopped pitted kalamata olives (I had regular black olives open so used those)
• 1/2 tsp capers, rinsed and chopped
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• freshly ground pepper to taste
• 4 sliced whole grain bread
• 1 tsp canola oil

Directions:

1. Have panini press ready, or a medium skillet and 2 heavy cans ready by stove.
2. Place tuna in a medium bowl and flake with a fork. Add tomato, feta, artichokes, onion, olives, capers, lemon juice and pepper; stir to continue. Divide the tuna mixture among 2 slices of bread (about 1/2 cup each). Top with remaining bread.
3. Heat 1 tsp canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Place 2 panini in the pan. Place the other skillet on top of the panini then weigh it down with the cans. Cook until golden on one side, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low, flip the panini, replace the top skillet and cans, and cook until second side is golden, 1-3 min.

Nutrition:
per serving: 336 calories, 6g fat, 61mg cholesterol, 35g carbs, 34g protein, 5g fiber, 543 mg Sodium, 52 mg Potassium

A couple notes about tuna - 

• my favorite canned tuna is Costco's Kirkland brand, white albacore. It is consistently high quality tuna. There was an interesting article in Costco's magazine about it a couple years ago - take a look at it if you're interested.
• with that being said - chunk light tuna has less mercury than canned white albacore tuna.