Searching through the archives of SANDWICHES, I discovered there weren’t any specific tuna salad recipes! This was an error that required immediate attention and correction. Here are a few of my favorite tuna salad recipes with and without mayonnaise.

BASIC STARTER TUNA SALAD:

2 - 6oz cans light tuna in water, drained
2 - hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
1/2 white or yellow onion (small), chopped - OPTIONAL
1/3 cup mayonnaise
3 tbsp. sweet pickle relish or ½ cup bread and butter pickles, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix tuna, chopped onion, mayonnaise and sweet pickle relish until well blended. Then, gently mix in hard boiled egg. Salt and pepper to preference. Serve on lettuce leaves with or without tomato quarters

NO MAYONNAISE TUNA SALAD:

3 - hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
3 tbsp. sweet pickle relish or ½ cup bread and butter pickles, chopped
1 tbsp. sweet pickle juice
½ white or yellow onion (small), chopped - OPTIONAL
3 stalks celery, chopped - OPTIONAL
2 - 6oz cans tuna packed in oil, 1 can drained, 1 not drained
Salt and pepper to taste

The oil from one can of the tuna and the tablespoon of sweet pickle juice will give this mixture the moisture it need without using mayonnaise. You can also adjust the moisture by how “hard” you boil your eggs. Softer boiled eggs will give more moisture to bind the tuna salad.

Mix the tuna - both cans and 1 can with oil NOT drained, relish, pickle juice, onion and celery. Gently add hard-boiled eggs. Then, taste and adjust flavor with salt and pepper to your preference.

NO EGG TUNA SALAD:

16 ozs soy tempeh (cake) or firm silken tofu
¼ cup sweet pickle relish or bread and butter pickles, chopped
¼ cup celery, finely chopped
¼ cup onion, finely chopped
2 tbsps soy sauce (tamari)
2 tbsps lemon juice
1 cup mayonnaise or vegan mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste
Prepare the tempeh first breaking it into chunks and steaming it over boiling water for about 15 minutes.
Set aside and allow to cool. Assemble the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl adjusting the amounts according to your preference.

Finely crumble the cooled tempeh into the bowl and combine with the chopped vegetables. Add the mayonnaise last. Chill before serving.


There's certainly more where these came from. Next week: a completely vegan recipe for Tuna Mock Salad and some variations on the basic tuna salad that will make your taste buds ZING!