Recipes / Salads / American Salads Tuna Salad Tuna in oil, drained but not wrung out, and everything else cut small enough to disappear into it. The crunch matters as much as the fish does.
Time 15 min
Serves 4
Difficulty Easy Ingredients Servings
− +
Quantities for 4 servings
2 x 145 g tins tuna in olive oil, drained 4 tbsp mayonnaise 1 tbsp Dijon mustard 2 celery sticks, finely diced 1/2 small red onion, very finely diced 2 tbsp capers, rinsed and chopped 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped 1 tbsp lemon juice 1/2 tsp black pepper 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
Treat this list as a starting point rather than a shopping order. Swap what you haven't got, leave out what you dislike, add what you love — this is exactly the kind of dish that rewards poking around in the fridge.
Method 1 Soak the diced red onion in cold water for 10 minutes, then drain well. This takes the harsh edge off it without losing the bite — raw onion straight in will still be shouting at you tomorrow. 2 Drain the tuna properly but do not press it dry. Tuna packed in olive oil is worth the extra cost here; the brine-packed sort needs far more mayonnaise to stop it tasting like cardboard. 3 Flake the tuna into a bowl with a fork, leaving some pieces chunky. Mashing it to paste is the most common way this dish goes wrong. 4 Add the mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper and fold gently until just combined. 5 Fold through the celery, drained onion, capers and parsley. Everything should be diced small enough that no single ingredient dominates a forkful. 6 Taste and adjust. It usually wants more lemon and more pepper than you expect — the mayonnaise flattens both. 7 Chill for 20 minutes before serving so the flavours settle, but eat it the same day while the celery is still crisp. Tap a step to cross it off. Your place is saved on this device.
Cook’s notes Tinned tuna in olive oil, not brine or spring water. It is the whole flavour base of the dish.
Capers are not traditional in an American deli tuna salad and are a considerable improvement. Chopped cornichons do a similar job.
It keeps two days but the celery softens after the first. Hold back half the celery and stir it in fresh if you are making it ahead.
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