Tuna Tartines with White Beans and Pesto

So this tartine was a play off one I had at Le Pain Quotidien the other day.  It was the dish that kicked off this whole week of recipes built around white beans.  For those of you who live in NYC and like Le Pain (and like tuna), I totally recommend the tartine.  It's delicious.  But if you don't live in NYC, you can now make my version of the tartine at home!  It's not going to win any beauty contests, but it's delicious.  My version isn't an exact copy of the Le Pain tartine because, as always, I tweaked it a bit.  Instead of a regular hummus spread lightly on the bread under the tuna, I made a white bean "hummus" with some of my leftover cooked white beans.  And then I scattered a few white beans on top for even more bean action.  My second tartine was more liberally topped with additional white beans, but unfortunately I didn't take a picture of it.  I also made homemade pesto, which I mixed in with both the white bean hummus and the tuna fish itself.  The Le Pain tartine was drizzled with a very loose and runny type of pesto, but I made a more traditional pesto and served it mixed in with the ingredients, as well as smeared on top.  You could also use store bought pesto, but since I had fresh basil I decided to go ahead and make it myself in my adorable little Cuisinart Mini-Prep Plus.  Lastly, I used thick slices of the leftover fresh sourdough as the base of the tartine, rather than the heartier, more thinly sliced whole wheat bread they used at Le Pain.  All in all, I loved my version.  I might even like it more than the Le Pain version, although I would have to try them both again to decide...  Life is tough.

Recipe after the jump!

Tuna Tartines with White Beans and Pesto

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup packed basil leaves

1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano

2 tbsp pine nuts

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

3 tbsp evoo

1 cup cooked white beans, separated into 3/4 cup and 1/4 cup portions (see Cannellini Beans with Garlic and Sage )

2 tbsp evoo

12 oz. can chunk light tuna in water, drained

2 tbsp evoo

4 1/2-3/4-inch thick slices of sourdough bread, lightly toasted

Combine basil, parm-reg, pine nuts, and s&p in the bowl of your mini-prep or blender.  Pulse to combine.  Add 3 tbsp evoo and pulse to combine.  Pesto should be creamy.  If necessary, add more evoo to get the right consistency and s&p to taste.  Using a spoon, remove pesto from mini-prep.  Add 3/4 cup cooked white beans to mini-prep.  Reserve the other white beans for topping.  The remaining pesto in the mini-prep will help to flavor the white bean hummus.  Process the white beans with brief pulses until the mixture starts to look thick and only slightly chunky, scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula as necessary.  Add 2 tbsp evoo.  Pulse to combine.  White bean hummus should be creamy and smooth, with only very small chunks of white beans.  Season to taste with s&p.  Set aside.

In a small mixing bowl, combine drained tuna, 2 tbsp evoo, 1 tbsp of pesto and s&p to taste.  Mix thoroughly with a fork to break up larger clumps of tuna.  Set aside.

To start building the tartines, first spread a generous layer of white bean hummus on the toasted sourdough before topping with tuna mixture and additional pesto.  Scatter 1/4 cup reserved white beans on top of the tartines and serve.