This week’s Food Matters Project recipe is a new twist on an old classic, the tea sandwich.

 This quintessential British snack, usually filled with a simple spread & veggies, is served alongside afternoon tea as a way to stave off hunger until dinner.  Some people, including the author of the Food Matters Cookbook himself, see them as stodgy & old fashioned, but in the South, tea sandwiches are a regular feature at baby showers, bridesmaids luncheons & other social gatherings where they’re filled with pimento cheese, chicken, tuna & egg salad, & served with tea…of the sweetened variety.

We took pimento cheese & tuna & put them on whole wheat bread with a twist…olives in the pimento cheese & niçoise flavors in the tuna.  Don’t miss the original Food Matters recipe at Dinner with Aura & all the amazing creations by other Food Matters Projects participants!

OLIVE PIMENTO CHEESE
makes about 2 cups

12oz sharp white cheddar, grated
6oz cream cheese
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup green olives stuffed with pimentos, chopped
2-3 tablespoons olive juice
1 teaspoon garlic powder
salt & cayenne pepper, to taste

Add half the cheese & half the cream cheese to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until well combined & mostly smooth. Add to a large bowl.

Add the rest of the grated cheddar & cream cheese to the bowl with the pureed mixture & stir until well combined. Add the remaining ingredients & mix well, everything should come together to form a thick spread. Taste & adjust seasoning, then spread on bread, crackers, veggies, top a burger….

TUNA SALAD NIÇOISE
makes about 1 1/2 cups

2 5oz cans albacore tuna, packed in olive oil, finely chopped
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
8 grape tomatoes, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely minced & pasted with a big pinch of kosher salt
3 basil leaves, minced
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 lemon, zested & juiced
1 teaspoon capers, finely chopped
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste
salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste

In a large bowl, add all ingredients & mix well.

To make the tea sandwiches…simply put either spread between two pieces of crustless bread.