Recipe: Italian Tuna Hero - Article: Creating A Super Hero

CREATING A SUPER HERO
Source: American Institute for Cancer Research
By Dana Jacobi author of The Joy of Soy

It starts with a long loaf of crisp-crusted Italian bread, slit lengthwise, with most of the interior pulled out and discarded. Before the chosen filling is added - usually layers of sliced cheese and meaty Italian cold-cuts - the bread is sprinkled liberally with a pungent red wine vinegar and oregano dressing. The meats and cheese are then piled on top of, and buried under, shredded iceberg lettuce and paper-thin tomato slices. Finally, pickled peppers and onion rings are added to complete the robust flavors. This super-sized sandwich is big enough to serve two or more, and tastes best after it has been wrapped up and toted to a beach, a boat, a park bench, or any impromptu alfresco meal.

"That's a grinder," you say. Or a hoagie, a hero, a sub (as in submarine, probably due to its shape), or what, in earlier times, was called a "Dagwood special," after a popular comic-strip character who delighted in making mile-high sandwiches. If you are from Louisiana, they are all poor cousins to the muffuletta sandwich, which for authenticity requires a sharp, pickled olive and vegetable salad, and a round loaf of bread topped with sesame seeds. Whatever kind of overstuffed sandwich you grew up with, eating one could be a "belly-buster," not to mention causing potential health problems, given the carcinogenic nitrates in cured meats and the excessive fat and sodium most versions contain.

There are, however, healthful ways to make a great tasting hero. Start with a loaf of whole-wheat Italian bread. Then switch the meat and cheese filling to albacore tuna, marinating it in some sharply-flavored garlic and oregano vinaigrette. Red lettuce and baby spinach can replace the iceberg, which has much less nutritional value. The traditional tomato, onion and hot pickled peppers can be added, as well as bell pepper rings plus sliced fresh mushrooms. Finally, wrap this big, fat sandwich in plastic and refrigerate it. Let it rest it for an hour, or keep it for up to 24 hours to bring out all its succulent, bold flavors.

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ITALIAN TUNA HERO

1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
12-inch loaf whole-wheat Italian bread
1 can (6 oz.) water-packed albacore tuna
6 pitted green olives, chopped (optional)
2 large pickled hot peppers, seeded and chopped
1 tsp. capers, rinsed, drained and chopped
2 large red lettuce leaves
4 thin sliced red onion
4 thin tomato slices
1/2 cup packed baby spinach leaves
4 thinly-sliced rings green bell pepper
1/2 large white mushroom, thinly sliced

In a small bowl, whisk to combine the vinegar, oil, oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Taste and add more salt and pepper, as needed.

Cut the bread in half lengthwise, leaving the halves attached along one side. Open the loaf and pull out most of the inside from one of the halves. (This part of the bread can be saved to make breadcrumbs in a blender, or cut up like croutons and toasted in the oven to add to soups and salads.) Brush the inside of the bread with one tablespoon of the vinaigrette.

In a mixing bowl, combine the tuna, olives, hot peppers and capers with the remaining vinaigrette. (If mixture seems too dry, mix in a little low-fat mayonnaise.)

Spoon the tuna salad into the scooped-out half of the bread. Layer the tomatoes, spinach, green pepper rings and mushrooms over the tuna. Arrange the onion on top, separating it into rings. Arrange the lettuce to cover the filling and then bring down the top half to close the sandwich. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate it 4 to 24 hours.

Using a serrated knife, cut into 4 pieces before serving.

Makes 4 servings
Per serving: 172 calories, 7 g. total fat (1 g. saturated fat), 15 g. carbohydrate, 13 g. protein, 3 g. dietary fiber, 577 mg. sodium.