By Ali Slagle
For The New York Times
Canned tuna can swim alongside so much more than mayo. Salty from the sea but not too fishy, it brings a lot to meals, with its juiciness and substantial yet delicate flakiness. It’s also pantry-friendly, budget-friendly and good for you. Here’s how to zhuzh up a can of tuna for a school of quick, flavor-forward dishes.
1. Add tang with tomatoes
Tuna is rich, oily and salty. Tomatoes are anything but, which means that their sweet-and-sour juices can energize a can of tuna in raw or cooked form. Chop a plump one for tuna salad, or cook some down for a sauce.
2. Crumble potato chips on top
Potato chips are fun to eat, of course, and they play a pivotal role when paired with tuna, whose tenderness needs something to keep it from being too sleepy. Enter chips, which take tuna sandwiches, casseroles and more from retro to timeless with their crisp texture.
3. Double up on brine
If tuna were a pop star, briny ingredients like capers, olives, pickles and kimchi would be its backing vocalists, lifting up its briny qualities. Together, they reach high notes of tang and salt. So if your tuna dish seems quiet and drab, look to the condiments in your fridge door to help it stand out.
4. Scatter with raw sliced onion
The tiny bits of raw onion bring excitement to tuna salad, bursting with juicy crunch and spicy kick in an otherwise creamy salad. But more is more: By cutting the onion in long, slender slices, you’ll get bigger wallops.
5. Add creaminess with white beans
White beans can the more assertive ingredients in a dish. They add creamy bites to salads, or they can be literal , mashed into patties for frying and casseroles.
6. Dot with toasted sesame oil
Toasted sesame oil is made by extracting the oils from slowly roasted sesame seeds. Even in minuscule doses, it adds a nutty, silky savoriness to whatever it touches. In the presence of sesame oil, tuna tastes fuller and richer.
7. Shingle cucumbers for juiciness
Can you really enjoy a tuna sandwich without a pickle spear alongside? The pickle jolts with brine and salt, but it’s also, at its heart, a cucumber, which is juicy, crisp and sweet — all things tuna is not. That’s why the two work well together (opposites attract and all that).
Tuna Salad Sandwiches
Inspired by Iranians’ love affair with pickles and fresh herbs, this tuna salad combines the crunch and tang of dill pickles with a mix of herbs. The cheerful addition of potato chips celebrates relaxed summer lunches — and tastes great any time of year. Ciabatta rolls and classic salted chips are especially good here, but you can use your favorite loaves and chips, or skip the bread and just serve the tuna salad with chips for scooping.
Makes 4 to 6 sandwiches
INGREDIENTS
2 (5-ounce) cans tuna in water
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 cup finely chopped sour dill pickles (from 2 small)
1 large celery stalk, finely chopped
1 scallion, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh dill or 1 tablespoon dried dill
1/2 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
4 ciabatta sandwich rolls, split and lightly toasted
Potato chips, for serving
DIRECTIONS
1: Drain the tuna, place in a medium bowl and use a fork to flake into pieces. Add the mayonnaise, pickles, celery, scallion, dill, parsley, lemon juice and oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper and combine well. Taste and adjust all seasonings to your liking if needed. The tuna salad will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
2: Divide the tuna salad among the bottom halves of the rolls, top off with potato chips, sandwich with the ciabatta tops and serve.
Recipe by Naz Deravian.
