Tuna Panini

The panino (singular of panini) is simply the Italian word for "small bread roll" — any filled bread in Italy is technically a panino. The pressed, grilled version familiar from café counters worldwide became known as "panini" in English as a result of American enthusiasm for Italian-style sandwiches in the 1970s and 1980s. Today the category covers any bread pressed and heated on a grill press, regardless of filling.

Canned tuna has a surprisingly distinguished history. Industrial canning technology, developed in Napoleon's France for military logistics, was first applied to fish in the 1820s. Bluefin tuna canning began in California around 1903, but albacore tuna — lighter, milder — became the preferred variety as consumer tastes evolved. Quality canned tuna packed in olive oil remains a premium ingredient in Mediterranean kitchens, used in salads, pasta and panini across Italy and Spain.

Our Tuna Panini mixes quality canned tuna with capers, green olives, eshallots and aioli into a piquant, textured filling that is then layered with tomato and rocket in Turkish bread and pressed. The capers and green olives — both preserved in salt or brine — add the briny depth that distinguishes a great tuna preparation from a simple one.