Food As Memory, Part II: À la Française — Bouchons au Thon

The other night, a wave of nostalgia washed over me. I had just returned from this amazing farmer's market a stone's throw away from my office. If you live in the Boca area, perhaps you know it. It's called The Boys, and it's pretty incredible. Any kind of produce you have ever imagined is there for the taking — baby eggplant, fresh rhubarb, 10 kinds of citrus and even more apples — and at ridiculously low prices. But it was really the cheese corner that stole my heart. All the hard-to-find favorites were here, wrapped in all their waxy, stinky, creamy glory, just waiting to shmeared on a crusty baguette. And that is what brought me back to France. I spent a year there during college and managed to live off of pastries, cheese, wine and chocolate, as any self-respecting American girl would.

So when I spied the Gruyѐre, I immediately scooped it up, even though I wasn't yet sure what I was going to do with it. I also scooped up a wedge of Brie and a crusty baguette, hoping it would inspire me. It was on the way home that I remembered a quick, and quintessentially French, recipe I had recently read in Molly Wizenberg's A Homemade Life. You'll remember her as one of the first foodie bloggers, Orangette. In it, she has a recipe for Bouchons au Thon, a classic French dish that, in English, could only be called a Tuna Cake — Reason #857 everything sounds better in French.

The best part about this recipe is that it's so easy, but has a really elegant feel to it, and most of the ingredients are typically on hand. It's basically a one-pot meal that is turned out into a greased cupcake pan. I made a few adjustments to the recipe below since the can of tuna I had on hand were 8 ounces. I added a bit more crѐme fraîche, an extra egg and a handful more of cheese and onion, along with a drained can of diced tomatoes for a little texture. These additions made 12, instead of eight, bouchons.

As it baked in the oven, I threw together a nice big salad and made sure to bring the brie to room temperature. A nice rosé from the South of France rounded out the meal — a delicious return trip to the best year of my life, all from the confines of 404C.

This meal also provides a great two-fer. You know, those meals where the leftovers are just as good as the original and can equally stand on their own? The next day, I made an incredible tuna melt, using two leftover bouchons, a bit of brie and some of that crusty baguette. It was heavenly. Next time, I might try the whole shabang with salmon.

Bouchons Au Thon

From: A Homemade Life, Molly Wizenberg

One 6-oz. can of tuna, packed in water, and drained well

1 cup finely shredded Gruyѐre, lightly packed

1/3 cup crѐme fraîche

3 tbs. tomato paste

3 large eggs

1/4 cup yellow onion, finely chopped

2 tbs. Italian parsley, finely chopped

1/4 tsp. salt

* Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease 8 cups of a standard sized muffin tin.

* Put the tuna in a medium sized bowl and using a fork, break it into small pieces. There should be no chunks larger than a dime. 

* Add the remaining ingredients and combine well. It will be a soft orange-pink color.

* Divide the mixture evenly into the 8 cups and make for 20 to 25 minutes, until the bouchons look set on top and around the edges.

* Transfer to a cooling rack and let sit for 5 minutes. Run a thin small knife around the edge of each cup, gently loosening them and removing them from the tin. [I found it was best to completely invert the muffin tin onto another sheet pan, as it was nearly impossible to get the bouchons out of the cups without ruining the edges.] They will collapse a bit as they cool.

* Serve warm [with a big green salad, brie and a crusty baguette.]