Tuna Risotto from the Pantry
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:6 servings
- 25-ounce cans, water-packed light (not albacore) tuna
- 7cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 2 to 4garlic cloves (to taste), minced
- 2tablespoons olive oil
- 3tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley
- ½cup minced onion
- 2 to 3anchovy fillets, soaked for 15 minutes in water to cover, rinsed and finely chopped (optional)
- 1(14-ounce) can tomatoes, drained and finely chopped
- 1½cups Arborio rice
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- ½cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc
- Generous pinch of saffron
- 1cup thawed frozen peas
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
467 calories; 12 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 58 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 25 grams protein; 1185 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Drain the tuna over a bowl. Stir the tuna water into the chicken or vegetable stock. Taste and add more salt as needed for a well-seasoned stock. Break up the tuna in a bowl, and add to it 1 of the garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, and the parsley. Set aside.
- Step 2
Bring the stock to a simmer in a saucepan and turn the heat to low.
- Step 3
Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil over medium heat in a large nonstick frying pan or wide saucepan and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes, and add the remaining garlic. Cook, stirring, for about a minute, until the garlic is fragrant, and stir in the anchovies and tomatoes. Cook, stirring, until the tomatoes have cooked down and the mixture is fragrant, 5 to 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Step 4
Add the rice and cook, stirring, until the grains of rice are separate and well coated with the tomato mixture, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Step 5
Stir in the wine and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. The wine should bubble, but not too quickly. You want some of the flavor to cook into the rice before it evaporates. When the wine has just about evaporated, rub the saffron between your fingertips and stir in, along with a ladleful or two of the simmering stock, enough to just cover the rice. The stock should bubble slowly. Cook, stirring often and vigorously, until it is just about absorbed. Add another ladleful of the stock and continue to cook in this fashion, not too fast and not too slowly, adding more stock when the rice is almost dry, for 20 to 25 minutes. Taste a bit of the rice. It should taste chewy but not hard in the middle. Definitely not soft like steamed rice. If it is still hard in the middle, you need to keep adding stock and cook for another 5 minutes or so. Taste and adjust salt.
- Step 6
When the rice is cooked al dente, stir in the tuna mixture and peas and add another ladleful or two of stock and several twists of the peppermill. Stir for a couple of minutes, taste and adjust seasonings. The mixture should be creamy. Add a little more stock if it is not. Spoon onto plates or wide soup bowls and serve.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Figaro
I prepared this last night; I cut everything in half - only 2 of us + tiny parrot. I used a 7-oz can of Genoa tuna in oil, all 3 anchovies and the whole can of tomatoes. Instead of discarding the juice I used it as part of the stock for the rice. Delicious! My husband had 2 helpings, something he rarely doess. The winner was Noodle, our Parrotlet, who normally tries everything we eat. When he came up for air, his beak was covered with tuna and rice. He only weighs 31 grams.
Figaro
If you read the recipe, you would have seen that it called for 5 oz. cans. That said, Costco does indeed sell 7 oz. cans of Genoa tuna packed in olive oil. They come in a 6-pack. This is a superb tuna to use in any recipe, especially Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern salads, as well as pasta recipes calling for tuna. It's the most reasonably priced, best tasting canned tuna out there.
Thomas Sherman
One additional note: the leftovers were fabulous when consumed days later. Perhaps, my wife thought, better than when freshly prepared. I suspect my wife was very hungry.
Nick
I didn't think this would be a particularly delicious dish but had some tuna in the pantry I wanted to be rid of. How pleasantly I surprised I was -- the risotto was wonderful! Would definitely cook again. Ar first I thought it called for too much stock but I would up using all seven cups. Added half a cup of capers and used a little less than half a cup of the suggested peas, because I like capers better than peas, and this combination of round green things was nice.
Duncan McBride
Just served this to post-Irma family. Didn't have arborio so just waited for the jasmine rice to cook and added the tuna and peas. I'm a hero. This is a terrific dish for a camp stove. Can take all the onion and garlic you want. Many thanks
Mary O
I wish we could see Parrotlet with rice and tuna on his beak! Too bad you can't include a picture :)
Marnie Olena
I have made this twice - once with the canned tuna and once with jumbo shrimp and sea scallops - both delicious. I used roma tomatoes instead of canned and about 6 cups of broth. It's become a staple.
Brooke Adler
A fairly labor intensive recipe, since it took time
both to prep the ingredients and then to make he risotto, but well worth the effort. Great flavor from simple ingredients I used 5.5 quart Le Cruset pot and think anything shallower would have led to a lot of splashes out of the pot.
Jersienne
Lisa, I used Melissa Clark’s recipes for Instant Pot risotto when I cooked this last night. 4 cups stock (not 7), 1/4 cup wine (not 1/2). Follow steps 1-4 but not 2 (don’t bother heating the stock); use the sauté function in the pot. Step 5: add wine & cook a min; this is quick because it’s such a small amount. Then add all of the stock, close & lock the lid, & cook 6 min at high pressure. Then manual release immediately. Stir in peas & tuna; keep stirring 1-2 minutes. Tasty. :)
Thomas Sherman
A very good recipe – a very interesting recipe – and well received by my family. Great depth of flavor. I accidentally added a 28 oz can of tomatoes with no ill effect; very delicious. I ultimately ended up using only 6 cups of chicken stock, perhaps due to the extra tomato.
cullen
This is delicious! I made it with olive oil packed yellow fin tuna and didn't add extra oil. Used the whole can of tomatoes for a half recipe and used the juice for part of the liquid. Does take the full amount of time but worth it.
Carol Grundfest
use tomato juice with stock (don't discard)
add capers?
Larry
Costco still sells tuna in 7 oz. cans. The amount used in this recipe doesn't have to be exact.
RosebudTX
I cut the recipe in half for two of us, but otherwise made as directed. Delicious but be careful of the salt, with so much layering, and the broth (mine was not low sodium) and the saffron, mine ended up slightly too salty. Peas are not a favorite in half our household so wondering if there is another veggie that might be just as good.
Meghan
One comment: adding in raw garlic eat the end seems questionable. We were getting bites of raw garlic which were a bit strong. Otherwise it was pretty good.
Shelley
to make 4 servings: cut the amount of rice and broth in half but keep the whole amount of vegetables. I drained the tomatoes and the tuna and added chicken stock to make up the 4 cups needed. Was out of frozen peas and added a can of asparagus that I found in the pantry because I am clearing out to get ready to move and am making dinners based on what I find. This is delicious.
Julie
Pretty good! I had to use a can of crushed tomatoes so I think that affected the texture. I'm not sure I'd rate it over tuna noodle casserole or other risottos though
Rachel
Why not albacore?
nancy
The recipe was originally published in 2008 in the fitness section of the paper and called for the larger 6.5 oz cans of tuna. Ergo, the tuna confusion!
LA
This is great! I didn't bother chopping anchovies, just melted them after cooking the onions, right before throwing the garlic in. I also used a 28 oz can of San Marzano - drained the liquid into the stock and then just crushed the tomatoes in my hand as I added them into the risotto. A squeeze of half of lemon right at the end was perfect!
John
Made this to get rid of a box of risotto I had in the pantry. Never made risotto before and I found this to be a surprisingly easy and very tasty recipe. I more or less followed the recipe exactly and it turned out great. Only thing I'd add is that you may want to add a squeeze of lemon juice at the end.
Heidi
This dish was phenomenal. I've only made it once, but I suspect you could cut some corners if you were short on time (finely chop instead of mince the onions, use canned diced tomatoes instead of finely chopping them... Actually that second one I did do) and it would turn out just as well. We used homemade vegetable stock which was a big bonus to the flavor. We'll definitely be making this again. One note: all I had was albacore tuna and it was just fine!
vic
Used lobster stock and added some salmon belly meat. Tasty
Lisa Y
Had a number of items on hand and that I needed to use. I happened to have smoked tuna packed in oil which was wonderful in this dish.
Sally V
If there was an award for best recipe that uses canned tuna, this might be it. I used canned diced tomatoes (including the juice), omitted the anchovies (I didn't have any) and substituted capers for 1/2 of the peas. OMG....so delicious. Incredible depth of flavor and the capers gave it an extra depth of flavor. Who knew such a delicious meal could come straight from your pantry?
Scott
Usually love Martha's recipes, but this one wasn't a winner for us. The flavor of light tuna comes through very strongly and turns what was a beautiful risotto into high-effort tuna noodle casserole.
Famlah
Delicious!! Really elevated the pantry ingredients into a full one-dish meal. I didn't feel like dirtying more pots or fussing over the stove for half an hour so I added the stock all at once instead of heating it in a separate pot and then adding it ladleful by ladleful. Washed dishes while it cooked, and stirred occasionally. It still came together very nicely and the texture was fine.
catherine
This is fabulous. Exactly as is.
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