Potato Loaf

This is a Catalonian potato salad with an interesting presentation. Mashed potatoes form the crust for filling vegetables, which are bound with mayonnaise. All are then rolled together to form a loaf. After chilling, the loaf is cut crosswise, each slice revealing the colorful filling. Serve this as a first course before a grilled or roast meat main dish, or as a light lunch.

1 can tuna fish in oil

3 eggs, hard-boiled, chopped

1 cup green olives, pitted, sliced

1 fresh red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and diced (or canned roasted pepper in oil, diced)

1⁄4 cup mayonnaise

salt, pepper, prepared mustard to taste

4 cups mashed potato plastic wrap (kitchen cling film)

clean, dry kitchen towel additional mayonnaise for coating

olives, quartered eggs, red pepper strips, and lettuce leaves for garnish

• In a bowl, mix tuna, eggs, olives, and red pepper with mayonnaise. (Add a bit more mayonnaise if insufficient to bind mixture.) Season with salt, pepper, and mustard.
• Place a towel on a flat surface. Lay a large sheet, about 12_20 inches, of plastic wrap on the towel.
• On the plastic wrap, spread the mashed potatoes in an even rectangle about 1-inch thick.
• Leave a margin of 2 inches to the edge of the plastic wrap.
• Place the mayonnaise-vegetable mixture to run along the middle of the rectangle.
• With the aid of the towel, roll the mashed potato to cover the filling completely. Shape the roll evenly.
• Refrigerate for at least an hour. Uncover the loaf on a bed of lettuce set on a serving tray.
• Coat with a light layer of mayonnaise (you may wish to draw patterns on it). Decorate loaf with olives, egg slices, and red pepper strips.
• Cut crosswise into slices.