MMmmm. Tuna Salad. You take some canned tuna, and mix it into something delicious. Then you roll it into a wrap, fold it in a lettuce leaf, pile it on toast or crackers. And yeah, do it right, its well worth the mercury you're soaking up. But get it wrong, its sketchy, skanky and smelly. Your kids would be within their rights to throw it at you.It sometimes seems to me that the Tuna you get in a can and that sublime, rich Ahi you find in Sushi or Poke can't be the same thing. They have virtually no similarities. That said, it isn't practical to try and make a Tuna salad out of a $25.00 hunk of Ahi, so the answer is to use the canned and figure out how to make a delicious Tuna Salad.
I have become aware of two secrets of the Masters of the Tuna Salad Universe, and I'm going to share them both here. As I become aware of further secret information, you can count on my continued utter lack of discretion.
First, Tuna packed in oil is slimy and sketchy in every detail. I've never found a comfort zone with it. Tuna packed in water is much better for texture, and has a better, more consistent taste (what DO they use for "oil"? 30 weight?). So here's secret number one. Buy the Tuna packed in water, drain it good, and hit it with a drizzle of the GOOD Olive Oil. Let it soak for a couple minutes (maybe while you boil an egg?) and then go ahead and make your Tuna Salad. You'll find a lot of freshness and, well, tuna-ness has returned to your tuna.
Now, we all have our favorite tuna salad recipes, and that's as it should be. I like diced scallions, celery, carrots, garlic, whole grain mustard and enough mayonnaise to bring it together. Now, here's the secret. Use about a tablespoon of your favorite bottled cole slaw dressing. It brings the right sweetness and tang, and a unidentifiable something that you won't want to live without. Finally, salt, pepper, cayenne and a blend of dried Italian herbs. At the end gently stir in some diced hard-boiled egg and it's ready to go...
Ok, that's all good. I'll have to try the olive oil secret.
ReplyDeleteI agree about the oil-tuna. Haven't used anything but water packed for years...
final touch: cheese of your choice, hit it with the broiler for a few seconds, then top with sprouts on that puppy. But then, I come from Wisconsin, we put cheese on everything....
I'm a sucker for just a bit of sweet relish... probably does a similar thing as the slaw dressing- a touch of sweetness and tang.
ReplyDeleteZRM- gack... and you know I said that with love, but gack.
The cayenne is the money bite there.
ReplyDeleteThanks for leaving some comment love on EotS. :)
I put Old Bay Seasoning on my tuna salad. It makes me happy.
ReplyDeleteYou stole my tuna salad recipe, if you just throw in some turmeric. Lately I've been ditching the Italian spices, but, then, that's been across most of my cooking.
ReplyDeleteUm....yes please.....
ReplyDeletePickle relish. That's the key.
ReplyDeleteEgg? I love it, my husband can't stand it.
ZRM - the tuna melt? Yes. The sprouts? Urk.
And I have to say that I agreed with you about the tuna in oil, until I had some premium canned Italian tuna in oil. It was pretty damned good.
Tuna in oil or served a la mikey, a can of white cannelini beans(or homecooked),some diced onion, parsley, oil-and-vinegar, and some chopped fresh or dried sage, mixed together and served on a bed of mixed greens with a few cherry tomatoes to garnish.....Heaven! The best meal you can make from what's in your pantry and fridge.