Hard-boiled eggs halved, the yolks mashed into drained tuna and tomato sauce, and the mixture spooned back into the whites with parmesan over the top. No mayonnaise anywhere. Twenty minutes.
No mayonnaise anywhere
Almost every deviled egg recipe binds the yolks with mayonnaise. This one does not. The yolks are mashed into a can of drained tuna and 85 grams of tomato sauce, and that is the whole filling apart from salt and pepper.
The result is a different thing: savoury and slightly sharp from the tomato rather than rich and creamy. Parmesan grated over the top finishes it instead of the usual dusting of paprika.
Ten minutes, then cold water
The eggs go into water that is already boiling and stay there for ten minutes. That is a fully hard yolk, which this recipe needs, since the yolk has to mash to a paste and fold into the tuna.
The cold water afterwards is not optional. It halts the cooking at the right point, which keeps the yolk yellow instead of developing the grey-green ring that comes from overcooking, and it shrinks the egg slightly away from the shell so peeling is clean.
Draining the tuna properly
Tinned tuna carries a surprising amount of liquid, and any of it left in makes a filling too loose to sit in an egg half. Press it against the lid of the tin and let it drain before it goes in the bowl.
Then flake it with a fork rather than mashing it. You want strands, not paste, so the filling has some texture against the smooth yolk.
The filling always overflows
Four egg halves hold less than a tin of tuna plus two yolks plus 85 grams of sauce. This is expected, and the recipe's own note says what to do: pile the extra in the middle of the plate and let people help themselves.
Mound the halves generously rather than levelling them off.
More things with tuna
- Tuna salad — the same tin, a bigger dish.
- Tuna stuffed tomatoes — the same idea in a tomato.
- Boiled eggs — timings for every stage of yolk.
- Egg and potato salad — for the rest of the box.
Tuna Deviled Eggs FAQ
No mayonnaise. The yolks are mashed into drained tuna and tomato sauce instead, which makes the filling savoury and slightly acidic rather than rich, and parmesan goes over the top instead of paprika.
Ten minutes from the moment they go into boiling water, then straight into cold water. That gives a fully set yolk, which is what you need here because the yolk has to mash into a paste.
Two reasons. It stops the cooking, which prevents the grey-green ring that forms around an overcooked yolk, and it makes the shells come away in large pieces instead of taking the white with them.
A Spanish pantry staple: tomato cooked down with a little oil and sold in jars or cartons. Any plain tomato sauce does the same job. It is not tomato paste, which is far more concentrated.
Put it in the middle of the plate, which is what the recipe itself suggests. The mixture always makes more than four egg halves can hold.
With a sharp knife, wiped between cuts. Yolk builds up on the blade and drags, which tears the white on the next egg.
📖 Recipe
Deviled Eggs with Tuna (Huevos Rellenos de Atún)
Imprimir Pin ComentarIngredients
- 2 eggs
- 1 can tuna (drained)
- 85 g tomato sauce (tomate frito, or any plain tomato sauce)
- Parmesan cheese (to garnish)
- Salt and pepper
Notas
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to the boil, lower in the eggs and cook them for 10 minutes.
- Take them off the heat and put them straight into cold water.
- Meanwhile, drain the tin of tuna and flake it in a bowl with a fork.
- Add the tomato sauce and a little salt and mix.
- Once the eggs are cold, peel them and cut them in half lengthways with a sharp knife, then lift the yolks out of the whites carefully so the whites stay whole.
- Mash the yolks with a fork and stir them into the tuna and tomato mixture.
- Add a little pepper and check the salt.
- Spoon the mixture back into the hollows where the yolks were, mounding it slightly.
- Grate a little parmesan over the top and serve.
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