Nothing beats a simple tuna salad for a protein-packed quick and healthy lunch or snack. I love pickles and onions in mine. What do you put in yours? (Skip to recipe.)
Today was one of those glorious days where I got to stay home all day and get things done.
Long overdue. I tidied piles and did laundry and finished my book for book club and organized my work space (somewhat) and made some phone calls and cleaned the tops of my cupboards and fixed myself a tuna salad for lunch.
Oh, and yes, I fiddled around and got a 'Subscribe' button onto this blog, so for all of you that were requesting it - yay! I finally got it done. (Hopefully it works.) Now, instead of having to check-in to see if there's a new post, you can click on the subscribe button and have new Kitchen Frau posts sent directly to your email address. Saves time, and we can all use a little more of that, right?
So, a question - why is it that, after a whole day of getting things done, the house still looks exactly the same? Nobody would ever guess that a house-elf was working away today. In fact, some corners look worse because I got things pulled out, half-organized and, um, kind of moved on. (Attention span problems.)
But I know which corners are clean, and that's what counts. These kinds of days are necessary sometimes, to get our (literal) houses in order as well as our lives. It's making a start that counts.
Now back to that tuna salad. I feel kind of silly even posting a recipe for it, because everyone knows how to make tuna salad, but maybe you make yours different than mine, and it's sometimes fun to compare.
When I was in Ireland, I noticed tuna salad often had corn in it, and I know some people use sweet relish, but I'm kind of a sour-pickle person (no, I did not say sour-puss!) About a half of a firm, sweet apple, diced small, is a refreshing and interesting addition instead of the pickles. A bit of chopped parsley, chives, or dill is also good. Sometimes I add celery or green pepper or radishes for crunch, but my favourite way is just with onions and pickles. Plain, simple and delish.
I do prefer the oil-packed tuna - it's much moister and more flavourful - though not always easy to find. Fats have gotten such a bad rap, but I am glad there is more and more information out there exposing sugar and refined starches as the real culprits. I prefer real mayonnaise to the mayonnaise-like salad dressing (too sweet for my taste).
This salad can, of course, also be made with canned salmon. If using salmon, chopped green olives or pickled capers are sometimes a nice change from the sour pickles.
Healthwise, both salmon and tuna are chock full of nutrition – loaded with vitamins and minerals. Tuna is leaner and contains more protein, niacin, and selenium, while salmon contains a fantastic amount of brain-boosting omega-3 fatty acids and more vitamns B12 and D. Both are an easy way to get in more servings of fish per week – a part of a healthy diet.
So, how do you make your tuna salad?
* * * * *
Simple Tuna Salad
- 1 can (7 oz/198gm) tuna, preferably oil-packed, or salmon
- 3 tablespoons (45ml) good mayonnaise, or more to taste
- ¼ cup (60ml) chopped onion
- ¼ cup (60ml) chopped sour pickles
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- a few slices hot pickled pepper for garnish (optional)
- bread or crackers to serve (I like thin rice cakes)
Drain the oil or water from the can of tuna and put it into a medium-sized bowl.
Chop the onion and sour pickles and add to the tuna, along with the mayonnaise.
Give it a good grinding of pepper - I like to use about ½ teaspoon.
Stir it all together with a fork. If it needs more moisture, add a bit more mayonnaise or a splash of pickle juice.
Sandwich a scoop of the tuna salad between two slices of bread, or spread on crackers. Top with a few rounds of hot pickled peppers for added zing.
The ultimate and easy comfort food.
Guten Appetit!
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