Heather says:
I’m usually pretty plain Jane when it comes to tuna salad, a little mayo or cream cheese -or both if I’m really pushing the envelope. Dill weed1, salt, pepper, and some celery finish it off. Everything’s nice, everything’s beautiful, everyone wins.
Then, one afternoon I was poking around my friend Linda’s site and I came across this video:
Well I was intrigued, but there was a problem with the video. It used salmon, I know it’s premium from a pouch, but I cannot do canned salmon. Nope, I’ve tried, I think it’s heinous. Fresh salmon? I love it, could eat it all day. I love it as sushi, but canned makes me eye twitch at the thought.
I thought about it a little more and realized there was no reason not to try tuna.
Instead of the usual suspects the dressing is plain yogurt and red wine vinegar. Just whisk it together the amount you need in a 3:2 ratio and then add tuna, seeded & peeled cucumber slices, red bell pepper, and celery. I skipped the radish in the video as we never seem to have any around here, but it would add a nice peppery bite.
I had it on a sandwich, as that’s how I roll.
It’s cool and summery, perfect for our heat indexes.
Enjoy.
How do you fix your tuna salad?
1She said dill weed.
My basic tuna salad is mayo, onion and dill pickle, perhaps just a dash of tabasco (not so you taste it, but it makes a difference). I may try this version, but only for myself. My guys might eat it, but only under the condition of Please Don't Make This For Us Again. Ever.
My mom used to do a Tuna Macaroni salad in the summer, which was also pretty basic, and made a nice supper on a hot day. Very simple – cooked elbow mac, tuna, frozen peas thawed in cold water, a bit of chopped onion, all mixed with mayo or miracle whip (or a combo of the two, which is what she tended to do for potato or macaroni salads). I think I need to make some of that soon in remembrance of mom.
For a while when my parents were in Weight Watchers in the 70s, and they would have tuna mixed w/ yellow mustard and rehydrated dried minced onions, which were both "free foods" on the diet. O.o
Huh, huh, huh….dill weed….
I keep forgetting to make that mac salad. Family thing this weekend…I may bring it for that.
I make it it with olive oil, lemon juice and zest, capers, and scallions. http://justmyrecipecollection.blogspot.com/2010/0…
I've made chicken salad with yogurt before (chicken, yogurt, grapes, apples, walnuts) but hadn't thought about trying it with tuna. I may have to try it out! 🙂
Tuna salad is one of my favorites! I like to start with a couple cans of tuna & mayonnaise, the standards, but then I add diced apples and pickles (sweet or dill, they're both good), and either dill or basil–chopped fresh is best. Sometimes I add diced tomatoes and minced garlic as well, which is especially good in a tuna melt. We eat our on toasted whole grain bread or over salad greens like arugula. Yum!
Lately I've made tuna from a recipe I found in a cookbook and adapted. One can tuna, one small (7 or 8 oz) can garbanzo beans drained. Mix and add any or all of the following: chopped celery, chopped red bell pepper, chopped green olives and chopped onion (regular or scallion). I mix up a vinaigrette of olive oil, smashed garlic clove, red wine vinegar and/or lemon juice and dress the salad with that. It is amazing on lettuce and makes a great lunch or dinner.
I don't use dill weed (huh huh) because I think it tastes like lawn clippings. It's too grassy for me.
I recently made a tuna salad sandwich with Bacon Salt (I swear to all that is holy the stuff is amazing), olive oil, garlic, some tomato slices and jalapenos (from a jar). Threw it on pumpernickel. Sounds like it wouldn't work but it so very much did.
Does dill weed come from the dill hole?
I make mine the way my mom always has. Mayo, dill relish, boiled eggs, red onion, and celery. I like to mix some shredded cheddar in there too.
You said dill weed. 😀
The oddest tuna salad I've ever had was made by a friend of mine. He uses tuna, mayo, chopped jalapeno and canned peas. No joke. It was… well, I ate it. It was okay. It's hard to really mess up tuna but this came close. My personal classic tuna salad is tuna, mayo, chopped onion and chopped celery and some capers with lots of black pepper. Yum.
Ceviche style tuna salad – in a jar, combine canned tuna (don't drain yet), shaved onion (I prefer yellow) or shallot, a finely diced green or red chili (I like serrano), diced fresh mango (can substitute canned peaches or pineapple – drain these), and finely chopped fresh cilantro. If you like garlic, you can add some finely minced. Dust lightly with cumin and give a squirt of yellow mustard. Add the juice of several limes….at this point, you want a lot of juice so things can "stew." Shake well and put in the refrigerator. Let sit at least overnight. When ready to use, put a wire strainer over a bowl and pour out the jar, collecting the juice…allow enough time to drain thoroughly. Mix the tuna you are going to use immediately with some real mayo (not the diet kind), adding salt and pepper to taste. Don't let this sit too long before eating because it can separate. If you want celery, jicama, dried berries or nuts…add that now. Put the juice back into the jar to keep any remaining tuna for the next use.
When you've used all of the tuna mix, slice some veggies – onion, bell pepper, squash, eggplant, etc. into the jar to marinate in the leftover juice for grilling the next day. Add some apple cider vinegar and water if you need to increase the volume. No, the veggies don't come out tasting fishy.
Oh, my …………. as my Mother would have said, "Fancy, schmancy". Her tuna salad was canned tuna and mayo. Period. Though, if feeling adventurous, maybe a little chopped celery.
Can you tell why I have spent my life learning to cook?
I LOVE all these ideas ……… and will try a bunch of them just to see how it all tastes..
Heather, I'll take your version first, and put it in pita breads or wraps ………… YUM.
Thank you, girlfriend.
I use a little bit of real, full fat, not Miracle Whip, mayonnaise (about half what I think I would need), a tiny pinch of kosher salt, a couple grinds of black pepper, and a big pinch of Herbes de Provence. Those are the amounts I use for 1 serving of pouch packed tuna. It is out of this world! My finace said it was the best tuna he'd ever had!
Tuna, mayo (not Miracle Whip!) and spicy pickles, chopped small. Simple and sooooo tasty! And, if put on an open faced piece of bread, sprinkle with your favorite cheese(s) and toss in the oven, it's an even better tuna melt!
I make a lot of tuna salad and tend to wing it everytime I make it. I do love a good dressing with yogurt and red wine vinegar tho I think I go a little heavy on the vinegar which is how _i_ like it!
Tuna, Mayo, Dijon Mustard Horseradish and Worcestershire Sauce.
YUMMY.
From some Greek neighbors in North Carolina, I learned to use part yogurt and part mayo, dried onions, a little dried garlic, and lemon juice. Great on toast.
YUM.
Thank you, girlfriend.