Can Cuisine

You know, we all take canned food for granted, but when it was first invented, it was something of a miracle. In the age before canning, everything was salted to preserve it, and sometimes the food rotted anyway. The French (so clever) invented canning as a way to keep microorganisms out of the food and keep the taste (relatively) of fresh food inside. Canning worked so well, it was sold to the French military to feed their soldiers, and it was a great improvement over salted meat, hardtack, and little or no vegetables.

Now, you can buy just about anything in a can. Especially organic foods like beans and vegetables, which hold their nutritive value pretty well. All in all, there's absolutely no reason to not love the Can.

This is a truly easy casserole. The beauty of the thing is how much control you have over the end product. You can choose your protein, use low fat cheese if you'd like, switch one ingredient out for another. It's virtually indestructible.

For one large casserole, you will need:

1 pound ground meat (use beef, pork, a combo, or even veggie chorizo)
1 onion, chopped (you can leave this out if chopping's too painful)
1 16 oz can chopped tomatoes (Muir Glen fire-roasted is great, but so's Rotel)
1 16 oz can hominy or corn, drained
1 7 oz can mild green chiles
1 7 oz can sliced olives, drained
1 16 oz can refried beans
salt, pepper, chili powder if you'd like
1 tube prepared polenta (found in most grocery stores), sliced into 1/3" slices
I package grated cheddar cheese
1 t olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a large (9"x11") casserole dish and set aside.

Heat the olive oil on medium heat in a large non-stick skillet. Saute the chopped onion until translucent, then add the meat and salt, pepper and chili powder, breaking it up with a spoon, until meat is crumbled and cooked through.

With heat still on, add the can of tomatoes, undrained. Stir briefly, then add the hominy, green chilies and olives. Mix together well, then stir in the beans (the heat should help to incorporate the beans into the mixture). Add in half the cheese, give a quick stir, then pour the whole mess into the prepared casserole.

Layer the polenta rounds on top to cover the pie mixture as best as you can, then sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Cook in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes, or until bubbly and beginning to brown. Upon removal, allow to rest for 10 minutes.

Serve with a salad and enjoy.

This recipe comes from the Down by the Sea and the Farm: A collection of Atlantic Coast's Seafood Recipes and Farm Recipes. One can only assume that both the Sea and the Farm's larders were quite bare at the point this soup recipe was conceived. In any case, it's most definitely the canned goods which save the dinner.

1 19oz can whole tomatoes (crush tomatoes slightly)
4 cups milk
2 cups cooked macaroni

Bring to boiling point and turn down heat, add a small pinch of oregano,salt and pepper to taste. Add 1 1/2 T butter. Serve with crackers and toast.

As admittedly amazing as canned goods can be, not all canned goods are, well, GOOD. Some canned products are better than others. For instance...

1. Canned tomatoes. Italian canned tomatoes in particular are excellent, especially if labeled "San Marzano." Most of us can't travel to Italy for a taste of those vine-ripened perfect tomatoes, but the canned ones come pretty close.

2. Canned tuna. Before the days of canning, fish either had to be eaten immediately or dried by salting or smoking it. Canning changed fish forever. And tuna became a canned staple. While there's nothing wrong with Bumblebee, olive-oil packed tuna from Italy or Spain is a real treat.

3. Broth. I guess technically, those boxes of broth aren't really canned, but it's preserved under the same principle, and kept in the same aisle. There's some excellent "canned" broth and stock out there.

4. Salsa. Yes, you can buy it fresh in the refrigerated section. And it's good. But almost as good, and waiting on your pantry shelf, is canned salsa by brands like Herdez and Embasa. Sear a can of this salsa with some chopped garlic until it darkens, mix in some broth, and create a spicy sauce to add to south of the border casseroles (or, just use it to dress up a chicken breast).

5. Chipotle peppers. No, NOT the same as salsa. These canned smoked jalapeno peppers are great for adding a kick to sauces and casseroles. Just puree a couple and you're smokin'.

6. Artichoke hearts. Artichoke hearts are yummy, but they're a nightmare to extract from their thistle-like home. While marinated artichoke hearts in jars are good, sometimes that extra seasoning isn't required. Regular canned ones really do the trick without the added salt.

7. Clams. Another delicacy that adds distinctive goodness but is an awful lot of work in its natural state. A couple cans of really good chopped clams (the whole ones are too chewy) adds wonderful brininess to pasta.

8. Beans. Beans are a canning success story for sure. And almost every kind is good, although I'm partial to organic garbanzos and black beans.