Basque Bonito del Norte Tuna Dip

Versatile, hard to categorize but with a distinctive Basque identity, this is somewhere between a snack, starter, dip, spread, stick-your-spoon-in-as-you-pass-the-bowl and good to eat any time of day.

Servings: 6-8 as a starter

Ingredients:

1 large onion, finely chopped
3 yellow and/or red sweet peppers, coarsely chopped
2-4 fat garlic cloves, minced or pressed
olive oil
6 oz mixed green and black olives, pitted and chopped
1-2 oz capers, drained
1 14-oz can tomatoes in rich juice
10-15 oz piquillo peppers, drained and cut in small pieces
1 tablespoon sherry or white wine vinegar
8-12 oz of bonito del norte tuna in olive oil
Salt and black pepper
Toasted country bread (to serve)

Preparation:

Gently fry the onion and garlic in the oil in a deep saucepan for about 10 minutes, add peppers and cook until onions are soft.

Add the olives, capers, tomatoes (plus juice) and cook gently for 5 minutes. Add the piquillo peppers and cook for 5 more minutes.

Stir in the vinegar, followed by the bonito del norte. Check the seasoning, (it will probably need no extra salt but quite a bit of pepper), simmer a little longer and leave to cool. Chill in the fridge, preferably leaving overnight for the flavors to settle, before serving with slices of toasted country bread.