Wednesday 3 November 2010

TUNA SALAD SANDWICH



The very first time I had a tuna sandwich I was hooked. It became my favourite lunch, favourite sandwich, favourite snack! I loved it! I was in my teens, and I quickly learned how to make it: Mix a can of tuna fish with mayonnaise, chopped celery, and chopped onions, throw it between two slices of white bread and you're in business. 

Being Greek, I soon started adding lemon juice, an ingredient Greeks try their best to use in each and every recipe from appetizers to desserts. I experimented with different types of bread, I added garlic powder (don't try it), I added herbs, and finally, I settled on the version posted here! For me, it's the best ever tuna salad! 

To make this or any tuna salad, I always buy tuna packed in water. I drain the water and add a bit of good olive oil to help all the salad ingredients fuse together. If you make this tuna salad, have it on a sandwich with lettuce and tomatoes, or even eat it on a bed of lettuce without the bread. However, if you do choose to turn it into a sandwich, use a hearty, solid kind of bread. And please, enjoy it. It is really good!  

Ingredients:

2 cans (7 ounces each), of tuna fish, packed in water
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 shallot, chopped finely
3 celery stalks, chopped finely
1 tablespoon of capers, rinsed well and chopped
Juice of one lemon

zest of half a lemon
1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
lettuce and sliced tomatoes, optional
sliced bread, your favourite, lightly toasted

Directions:

Drain the tuna fish and mix all of the ingredients. Serve on toast, with lettuce and or tomatoes. 

If you would rather forgo some or all of the bread, you can have it as an open-faced sandwich, or in lettuce cups.