Just when you think there's nothing in the house to eat, you remember. Security is a can of tuna in the pantry and a can opener in the kitchen drawer. Show of hands, now, I bet you have them. See?

Even the late, great James Beard himself was a fan of canned tuna. But he never called it "tuna fish." As in "I'll make tuna fish salad." You wouldn't say you were having salmon fish for dinner, would you? Or red snapper fish. Or perch fish.

It's tuna, just tuna. So please mind your superfluous nouns.

Tuna is high in protein and low in calories. Only the egg can compete with it on equal terms. But, pound for pound while eggs win on cost, they lose on cholesterol levels. Let's call it a draw.

But, hey, didn't we just read a recent news controversy about high mercury levels in some fish, especially bluefin tuna? That's the kind that often is used for sushi. Unless you are pregnant or have special dietary restrictions, the occasional serving of canned tuna should not be a problem. Your call, however.

Canned tuna comes in a variety of textures: solid pack, which is usually a single piece of meat; chunk, which is made up of large pieces of meat; flake, smaller and less desirable pieces of meat; and grated, a mushy stuff useful only where the end use is an unrecognizable mixture such as a pate or sauce.

Canned tuna also comes in different packing media: olive oil, vegetable oil, brine and water. Technically, they are interchangeable in recipes, but olive oil will give the best flavor. And with apologies to Charlie the Tuna, all of our PG-tested recipes were made with Italian olive oil-packed tuna. Life is short. Eat the best.

We say 6-ounce cans here, but if you have a 6.5- or 7-ounce can, it should work fine.

Mayonnaise seems to figure into many tuna recipes. Hellman's is preferred. For a tuna salad sandwich, though, nothing beats the zest of Miracle Whip. But if you have a food processor or a blender, it's easy to make your own mayo.

These recipes can be especially handy for Catholics who are giving up meat on Fridays during these six weeks of Lent. But even if that's not you, get the scissors. You'll want to snip out this feature and tape it to the back of a kitchen cupboard door.

Here are 20 things to make with canned tuna:

For each serving, use 1 small can of oil-packed tuna. Open the can, drain it and arrange the tuna in one piece, as it comes from the can, in the center of a bed of greens. Garnish with any or some of the following: sliced avocado, quarters of hard-cooked egg, cucumber slices or sticks, cherry tomatoes, strips of red or green pepper, ripe olives, strips of pimiento, anchovy fillets, artichoke hearts, cooked asparagus spears, tiny new potatoes, cooked and tossed with vinaigrette dressing. A mound of mayo is a welcome addition.

To serve 4, open 2 large cans of tuna and drain off the oil. Place the tuna in the center of a large platter covered with greens. Pat the contents of a can of anchovies to rid excess oil and arrange them around the edge of the tuna. Arrange 4 tomatoes, quartered; 4 hard-cooked eggs, halved; either cooked and chilled green beans or asparagus, both dressed with vinaigrette; cold cooked tiny new potatoes; and red pepper strips for color. If you think of it, add artichoke hearts. Serve with a toasted baguette.

Hard cook 6 eggs, cool and cut in half. Flip the yolks out into a small bowl. Add 1/4 cup mashed or flaked tuna, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons butter at room temperature, minced garlic ( 1/2 garlic clove pushed through a press and minced), 1 tablespoon mayonnaise. Mix well. Season with fresh lemon juice and a few drops of red pepper sauce. Spoon back into the egg white halves, mounding the stuffing. Top each egg half with a caper.

Cut out the core of 6 tomatoes, and use a small sharp knife or scoop to remove the pulp and seeds. Sprinkle the interior of the tomatoes with salt and invert on a rack to drain. Mash a 6-ounce can of tuna. Add 2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped; 2 tablespoons capers; 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley; 1 teaspoon finely chopped chives or scallions; 2 anchovies, mashed; and 2 tablespoons mayonnaise. Use the tuna mixture to stuff the tomatoes, piling it high. Serve on salad greens with warmed pita bread on the side. Makes 6 servings.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the tops from 4 to 6 tomatoes and discard. Scoop out the pulp, mince it and reserve. Invert the tomatoes to drain. To the tomato pulp, add 2 slices crumbled sliced bread, crusts removed; 6-ounce can tuna; 6 anchovies, chopped; 1 small clove garlic, minced; and 1 tablespoon chopped basil. Mix well. Sprinkle salt on the inside of the tomato cups and fill them with the mixture. Sprinkle 6 tablespoons grated cheese over the tops of the tomatoes and drizzle with 3 tablespoons of butter. Place the tomatoes in a baking dish spritzed with cooking spray. Bake about 20 minutes.

Drain a 6-ounce can of tuna and a 14-ounce can of cannellini beans and combine in a bowl. Add 5 scallions, chopped; 1/4 cup olive oil; and 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar. Allow to stand for about an hour for the flavors to mingle. Season with salt and pepper. Just before serving, stir in about 1/2 cup chopped parsley.

You might think cold sliced roast of veal napped with tuna sauce is one strange combo. But then you'd be wrong. The classic combination, Vitello Tonnato, is glorious, and it is a perfectly elegant choice to be the star of a summer buffet. The sauce is also wonderful with turkey or as a dip for vegetables. Sauce: Into the blender container, place 1 cup mayonnaise, 1/2 cup olive oil, a 6-ounce can of tuna (drained), 3 anchovy fillets, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice and 3 tablespoons drained capers. Whirl until smooth. Makes about 2 cups.

This is a summer classic salad that uses up stale bread. When you add tuna, you ramp up the protein and make it a meal. Cut the crusts from 4 to 6 slices of rustic bread and tear into chunks. Sprinkle with just enough water to moisten. Allow to rest for 5 minutes. Squeeze out any excess water and mix with 1 large onion, finely chopped; 1 or 2 tomatoes, chopped; 6-ounce can of tuna, drained; 1 small green or red pepper, chopped; 2 scallions, sliced; and 1 small cucumber, peeled and diced. Add olive oil and wine vinegar to taste, along with salt and pepper. Chill, sprinkle with parsley or any other herb and serve. Makes about 4 servings.

Wing this one. Cook maybe 1/2 pound of pasta and drain. While the pasta cooks, sizzle a minced clove of garlic in olive oil. Add the oil and garlic to the cooked and drained pasta along with a 6-ounce can of tuna, drained, some chopped parsley and the juice of a lemon. Add a big lump of butter and salt and pepper to taste. Some people like grated cheese with this.

Cousin to grilled cheese, and technically not grilled at all, but griddled. To make three sandwiches, preheat the griddle or a large black iron skillet. In a medium bowl, combine 1 6-ounce can tuna, drained and flaked, with 1/4 cup coarsely chopped olives, 1/4 cup chopped celery, 1/3 cup mayonnaise, and 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice. Toss until well mixed. Spread the filling on 3 bread slices and top with the 3 other slices. In a small bowl, gradually add 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice to 1/4 cup very soft butter. Spread the lemon butter on both sides of the sandwiches. Grill sandwiches about 5 minutes or until nicely browned on underside. Turn, and grill until browned on the other side.

From the time-honored tradition of melted cheese on toast, we add tuna for a "melt." Butter bread on one side. Place butter side down in a medium-hot skillet. Top with a slice of good melting cheese, add about 1/4 cup tuna salad and cover it with another slice of cheese. Top with a slice of bread and butter it. When the bottom side is brown, flip the sandwich and brown the second side. Cut in half or quarters and think about coming home for lunch in elementary school.

Same idea, but split and toast an English muffin. Spread both pieces with tuna salad and top with a big slice of American or cheddar cheese. Run under the broiler until the cheese bubbles.

This low-fat alternative to a tuna sandwich has a lot going for it. You can just make it up as you go. Mix drained tuna with the juice of a lime, minced scallion, lots of minced cilantro leaves, salt, freshly ground pepper and hot pepper sauce. Spread the tuna mixture on a flour tortilla, pita bread, or your choice of sliced bread. Add a couple of lettuce leaves and sliced tomato. If you're not kissing anyone any time soon, add a thick slice of red onion.

This is good spread on crackers. Add a few black olives and small radishes or cherry tomatoes on the side for a quick lunch. Into the container of a blender put 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1/2 small onion, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 6-ounce can of tuna, drained, 1 stalk celery (cut in pieces), and 1 small carrot (cut in pieces). Cover and blend on high speed for 30 seconds. Chill. Makes 1 3/4 cups.

Into the container of a blender put 1/4 cup mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, few drops Tabasco, 1 slice small onion, 1 small stalk celery, cut in pieces and a 6-ounce can tuna, drained. Cover and blend on high speed for 20 seconds, stopping to stir down if necessary. Spoon into a plastic- wrap-lined, straight sided dish. Chill. When ready to serve, turn out onto a dish and peel off the wrap. Makes 1 1/4 cups.

Is there a single community cookbook in the entire world that doesn't pay homage to this classic from the 1950s? Go all the way back down memory lane and serve it with a bowl of canned tomato soup. Cook 4 ounces macaroni or penne pasta and drain thoroughly. Place the cooked pasta in a greased casserole dish and toss with a little oil or melted butter. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add 2 tablespoons chopped onion and 2 stalks chopped celery and cook until tender. Add 1 can cream of mushroom soup and 1/2 cup milk and 4 ounces American cheese. Heat until the cheese is melted. Stir in the contents of a 6-ounce can of tuna, drained. Pour the tuna sauce over the pasta and mix well. Now, here's the best part. Sprinkle the top with crushed potato chips, about 1 cup. Bake at 350 degrees about 20 minutes until heated through and browned on top. Makes about 4 servings. Just for fun, try barbecue or sour cream and chive potato chips.

A bit of spin from the Far East. Combine 2 large cans tuna, drained, with 1 cup button mushrooms that have been lightly sauteed in a bit of butter, 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1/4 cup water, 6 scallions, chopped, and 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Stir and ladle into a greased casserole dish. Scatter a can of Chinese noodles over the top and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Serve with a dish of cold canned mandarin oranges.

An old New York Times cookbook includes this recipe which is printed below. The tuna-noodle casserole gets a spin from caraway seeds and a homemade sauce.

Drain oil from a 6-ounce can of tuna and place just the oil in a bowl, adding 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper to taste to the oil. In another bowl, combine the tuna with half of the dressing, keeping tuna in large hunks. Halve and pit an avocado and season with salt and pepper. Fill avocado halves with the tuna and drizzle with the remaining dressing. Garnish with cherry tomato halves. Makes 2 servings.

Oh, come on!

Do you really need a recipe for this? Here's one way to do it. Dump a 6-ounce can of tuna into a medium bowl. Add finely chopped onion and celery. Add enough mayonnaise to make the mixture hold together. Add salt, pepper and hot pepper sauce if your like. Spread between slices of bread, a bun or pita bread.

21. Feed the cat

• 1/2 pound freshly cooked noodles, drained
• 1 tablespoon caraway seeds
• 5 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 6-ounce cans tuna fish
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• Pinch of cayenne
• Freshly ground pepper

Put the noodles into a bowl. Add the caraway seeds and 2 tablespoons of the butter. Toss lightly and turn into a buttered 1 1/2 quart ring mold. Set the mold into a pan of hot water to keep warm.

Melt the remaining butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour. Add the milk, stirring with a wire whisk. When the mixture is thickened and smooth, add the cream. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Drain the tuna and flake it. Add it to the sauce. Add the seasonings and mix well. Turn out the noodle ring on a hot platter and fill the center with tuna and sauce.

Makes 6 servings.

-- "The New York Times Cookbook"

by Craig Claiborne (Harper & Row, 1990)