From Saint Quentin La Poterie, Easy Ideas for Summer Lunches ! Today: Tuna “Rillettes”

St Quentin-La-Poterie (the “ceramics-manufacturer’s”) is a tiny village, near Uzès, 30km from Nîmes, in the south of France. The village is the home of gifted artisans that work to turn clay into the most wonderful ceramics you can ever imagine….You know? Not the typical stuff for tourists, a dish with the name of the place….I mean, little works of art, of good taste, and on top of it, practical, for every day life…

As soon as I arrived, I made my way under the unrelenting sun, along winding little streets, to find not only artisan shops, but other shops that would be “a food blogger paradise”, full of lovely objects we could use as props….I had a great time talking to these artists, discovering new (?) objects like these cups with a hole, that were originally used in France to pour jams, marmalades, into their jars!

Then, it was time to eat…(only thing we think about when we are on vacation) ! I had a lovely lunch under the shade of trees with one of my favorites: frog legs with garlic and parsley, salmon with rice, and icecream, of course….the whole “sprinkled” by a fresh Rosé de Provence…..As soon as I came back to Paris, I wanted to send my new acquisitions “on stage”…so, I thought of something summery (even though it feels like winter here!): Tuna Rillettes! Tuna Rillettes are made with canned tuna, shallots, parsley,cream cheese, capers and my trademark, Piment d’Espelette!! Some hours in the fridge and Voilà !!! ready to eat!!

Enjoy with a glass of Rosé…..!

Want the recipe?

For the rillettes de thon, you will need:
* tuna in olive oil, 400 gr. * shallots, 3 * Philadelphia cheese (or any other cream cheese), 300 gr. * parsley (chopped), 2 tablespoons * capers, 2 tablespoons * piment d’Espelette (or paprika, or white pepper), to taste.

Remove excessive oil from tuna. Mash it with a fork. Stir in the shallots, finely sliced, the cheese, the parsley, the capers (previously rinsed) and the piment d’Espelette. Combine everything well. Season with salt, if necessary. Put the rillettes into a terrine; refrigerate for 12 hours.

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29 Thoughts on "From Saint Quentin La Poterie, Easy Ideas for Summer Lunches ! Today: Tuna “Rillettes”"

Rosa on July 26, 2011 at 1:41 pm said:

A wonderful place! Those rillettes look delicious.

Cheers,

Rosa

juliana on July 26, 2011 at 3:16 pm said:

no me vas a decir q solo te compraste esos potecitos?? hermosos, es verdad, pero creo q yo no me podria haber ido con tan poco! q cosas mas lindas!
la receta buenisima, bien de verano, y de chicas express! jaja

- Cristina on July 26, 2011 at 3:47 pm said:
  
  Bueno, un alguito mas compré…pero hay que mantener el perfil bajo..!
  Gracias y besos para BA!
  
Patty on July 26, 2011 at 3:40 pm said:

Yum! My favorite comment when I see a simply delicious morsel of food!
You are an inspiration, I love the photos, especially the very sweet one of you enjoying yourself on holidays;-). I can’t wait for my trip and hope to meet you in person. Looks like you found some lovely props down south, thanks for sharing

- Cristina on July 26, 2011 at 3:47 pm said:
  
  Looking forward to meeting you too Patty !!!
  
Miriam/The Winter Guest on July 26, 2011 at 4:08 pm said:

El paraíso de los complementos cocineriles!! Qué buena pinta los rillettes, he visto este tipo de plato antes, pero nunca lo he probado. Veo que sigues sufriendo en tus vacaciones… XD

- Cristina on July 26, 2011 at 4:24 pm said:
  
  Que ya estoy de vuelta en “sunny” Paris (???!!!!!) La verdad? los rillettes son MUY buenos…
  
Joan Nova on July 26, 2011 at 5:49 pm said:

Such beautiful photos…I’m glad you enjoyed your little get-away.

Chef Chuck on July 26, 2011 at 5:50 pm said:

So nice to see you enjoying yourself, after all the hard work you have been doing!
You look fabulous…
Love that addition of the Philadelphia cheese !
Take care, all the best Chuck

- Cristina on July 26, 2011 at 7:34 pm said:
  
  Thank you Chuck..They say work doesn’t kill, does it?
  
Julia on July 26, 2011 at 8:05 pm said:

Me encantó la receta, y ¡qué decir de tu compra! ¡Hermosa!

- Cristina on July 26, 2011 at 8:15 pm said:
  
  Gracias Julia! De donde sos?
  
amelia from z tasty life on July 26, 2011 at 10:15 pm said:

Cristina: what a charming village (I love the nostalgic sepia tones…). This is a delicious easy lunch or snack!

Heidi Leon Monges on July 27, 2011 at 5:29 am said:

Cristina, veo que la haz pasado muy mal de vacaciones Me encantaron los props, la poterie, las fotos, bueno todo. Y si te voy a seguir el consejo y voy a preparar un rillete de tuna este finde porque me encanta.

Y el rosé ni se diga!

- Cristina on July 27, 2011 at 9:10 am said:
  
  Viva el rosé de Provence…hic! ;D
  
tasteofbeirut on July 28, 2011 at 3:25 pm said:

Love the idea of tuna rillettes! Rillettes was something I was never all that keen on when I lived in France but now that it has expanded to include a quick pâté of just about anything, love it! Piment d’espellete is not handy here so I will use soem Aleppo pepper instead!

- Cristina on July 28, 2011 at 4:18 pm said:
  
  Sure, you can use any type of pepper..
  Thanks!
  
Kathy Binns on July 28, 2011 at 5:13 pm said:

The tuna rillettes looks very tasty, I shall make that tonight and have for supper tomorrow evening with french beans from garden with a little garlicky dressing and hard-boiled free range eggs plus some toasted country bread. Sounds good.

The house you stayed at in Provence looks nice – could you send me a link on how to rent it when you have a minute.

I am slowing starting a catering business and just finishing my website. I will send you an invitation to join.

Your photos are very interesting and the presentation of your food is very stylish.

Kind Regards,

Kathy

- Cristina on July 29, 2011 at 8:14 am said:
  
  Thanks you Kathy! Looking forward to seeing your site!
  I’m sending you the address by e-mail
  
Digital Printing on July 29, 2011 at 2:34 am said:

I often crave for tuna rillettes because it is a protein packed health food. Honestly speaking,whenever I eat this, it helps my body in fueling my metabolism and also helps in burning fat.

- Cristina on July 29, 2011 at 8:13 am said:
  
  I quite agree with you !!!
  
Barbara on July 29, 2011 at 1:49 pm said:

I adore shops like that, Cristina. I remember so many of them in France, too. Never have seen cups like that….fascinating.
Your tuna rillettes look wonderful! A nice basic recipe for a summer lunch.

- Cristina on July 29, 2011 at 2:28 pm said:
  
  So glad you like them, Barbara!
  
Magic of Spice on July 29, 2011 at 6:55 pm said:

I could spend days wandering through those pottery shops…gorgeous! And of course one would need these tuna rilletes for energy
Hope you have a lovely weekend…

- Cristina on July 29, 2011 at 7:05 pm said:
  
  Thanks!! The sun is FINALLY coming out!
  
Heavenly Housewife on July 31, 2011 at 6:47 pm said:

We are huge tuna eaters here. Growing up, my mom would always feed us tuna sandwiches (she wasn’t much of a cook LOL). This takes the tuna sandwich to a whole new level though. Your family is so lucky to have such a great cook and baker
*kisses* HH

baker boxes on August 4, 2011 at 1:51 am said:

I often read your website and always find it very interesting. Thought it was about time I let you know, Keep up the great work.

norma on September 11, 2011 at 2:34 am said:

Tuna in oil…that’s my girl.