Tuna ventresca

Tuna ventresca is the Ferrari of canned tuna to the jalopy of regular canned tuna. It comes from the belly of the thunnus thynnus, the Mediterranean 'Tonno Rosso' or Bluefin Tuna, fished in the 'rush' when it is coming in to warm waters for mating, at the end of a long migration.

But ventresca is hard to find in Washington, though I have seen it at Dean & DeLuca and the Georgetown Whole Foods on occasion. Ortiz is the brand most readily available.

It can be ordered on line from http://www.esperya.com as Ventresca di Tonno in Extra Virgin Olive Oil. The company sells a range of other Italian specialties worth looking into.

If you do invest in some, you can stretch it by using it as the key ingredient alongside thinly sliced shards of red onion, some fagiolini beans cooked in broth and cooled and everything gently mixed together under a good grind of black pepper and glug of extra virgin olive oil to make the most sumptuous Tonno e Fagioli you'll ever eat. 

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