Italian Tuna Salad

Tuna Salad-you either love it or hate it. My husband (who doesn’t like fish) loves it. I (who loves fish) am extremely particular about it. Our four year old loves it on hollowed out cucumber boats with the tuna recipe I’m sharing today.

I adapted this recipe from a tuna fish dish that my husband and I ate on a boat off the coast of Sicily on our honeymoon. What a day that was! Eight hours out at sea. The first four hours were just the two of us and a couple that drives you around the coast of Sicily and feeds you. It was an unforgettable day, to say the least. First we passed an old abandoned tuna factory off the coast and then were driven to the open water pretty far out. Dark blue waters. They stopped the engine and we soon realized they wanted us to take a swim in said water. We looked at each other and I knew immediately from the look on my husband’s face that he was not going to be the brave one. He whispered something about not wanting to swim amongst the giant tuna. I’m laughing writing this. What a spectacle we were! We braved it for a few minutes, just to be polite and while I was afraid of what could be nibbling at my toes in that water, I was happy that my new husband was just as much a chicken as I was!

After that jaunt, we went back towards the coast and while we happily swam around there, we were cooked the most delicious seafood pasta dish and were fed some delightful local white wine, Etna Bianco-our favorite. Gluten free pasta was prepared for him. It was just the two of us, surround by water. Now THIS was more my speed!

After lunch we sat up top and took in the sun, we picked up another friendly group of people and did some more swimming and touring. At the end of the trip, they fed us a couple of local tuna delicacies like the local riff on bottarga and the most amazing tuna salad we have ever had. And more of that crisp white wine. Oh what a day. The tuna was of course, the best grade you can find, mixed with mayonnaise and local Sicilian capers.

So, that is the inspiration to this “Italian Style Tuna”. I use Italian tuna in oil, mayo, capers and lemon. I guess you can call it Tuna Siciliana if you want to get technical. I do add chopped celery to it for some crunch. I also like to add a dollop of dijon to it if the mood hits me.

Like I said in the beginning, my daughter loves it on boats. I usually put it on a salad and also in a wrap for my husband and I. For this recipe I put it in a radicchio cup, and serving it that way with some toasted sliced Italian bread would make a really nice presentation for someone who likes tuna! Add a glass of wine, close yours eyes and pretend you’re on a boat out at sea instead of your dinner table on a Tuesday night!

Italian Style Tuna Salad:

Ingredients:

  • 3 Cans of Italian Tuna in Oil

  • 1/4 Cup Mayonnaise ( add more or less depending on your preference!)

  • 1/2 cup Celery

  • 2 TBSP Capers (leave in a little caper brine)

  • Zest of one lemon

  • Juice of 1/2 lemon

  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix this all together and taste for seasoning, make your adjustments.

Serve as you like, serves 3-4

Notes:

Remember that tuna (and capers) can be very salty, so start with just a sprinkle of salt.

Italian tuna prices vary and can get quite expensive for an easy weeknight meal.  I like to use cans of Tonnino tuna, it is the most reasonable.

Enjoy!