Spelt salad with tuna, celery, sun-dried tomatoes and bottarga

• 10 minutes to prepare • 15 minutes to cook • Serves 4

 

10 MINUTES 

 

Autumn is knocking at our door.

Fortunately, the weather is still pretty nice in Milan - sunny and warm -, but you may easily guess from the morning chill that it is not going to last.
It is time to enjoy our last cold salads, handy allies because you can prepare them in advance and you can serve them as a tasty main dish.

Today' s recipe is made with boiled spelt seasoned with tuna preserved in olive oil, celery, sun-dried tomatoes, black olives, and topped with bottarga. It's a very scented preparation, thanks to the fresh basil, and a great appetizer.
Spelt gives it a special touch, but I'm biased because I love it, so you can replace it with rice, barley or pasta if you prefer.

Here are ingredients for the 4-serving recipe:

280 g spelt
100 g sun-dried tomatoes preserved in EVO oil
10 basil leaves
300 g canned tuna in EVO oil
4 branches celery
100 g pitted Kalamata olives
tuna bottarga
EVO oil
salt

1. Start by cooking the spelt: add the grains to the pressure cooker, along with 1 liter of water and close the lid securely. Bring the cooker to high pressure, and begin timing. The spelt will need 15 minutes since now to be ready
   
2. Meanwhile, wash celery and basil leaves under running water. Cut celery into rounds and chop basil leaves. Keep everything aside
3. Place canned tuna and sun-dried tomatoes in a colander to drain
4. After the 15-minutes cooking time of spelt grains has passed, let the pressure come down naturally. Once the pressure has dropped, open the lid and check if it is done. If it is, drain the spelt and drop cold water on it. Then, collect it up in the salad bowl
5. Chop sun-dried tomatoes into small pieces and add them to the boiled spelt together with basil, celery, tuna and olives. Stir to mix
6. Before serving, add more EVO oil, 1 tablespoon of tuna bottarga and salt if needed...enjoy!

In the table below Nutrition Facts are detailed for this appetizer. Data is provided per serving.

Happiness is rubbing a basil leave in your hands and enjoying the smell all day.