Seven ways to turn a can of tuna into lunch, or even dinner
Sign up now: Weekly recommendations for the best eats in town
Tuna and tomato salad. Raw onion provides necessary crunch to an easily assembled salad of tuna, tomatoes, onion, vinegar and oil. Food styled by Carrie Purcell.
PHOTO: ANDREW PURCELL/NYTIMES
Ali Slagle
UNITED STATES – Canned tuna can swim alongside so much more than mayonnaise. Salty from the sea but not too fishy, it brings a lot to meals, with its juiciness and substantial yet delicate flakiness.
It is also pantry-friendly, budget-friendly and good for you. Here is how to upgrade a can of tuna for a school of quick, flavour-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 energise a can of tuna in raw or cooked form. Chop a plump one for a tuna salad or cook some down for a sauce.
2. Crumble potato chips on top
Potato chips are fun to eat 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.
Spicy tuna and avocado tostadas. Tuna is rich, oily and salty, and tomatoes are anything but, which means that their sweet-and-sour juices can energise a can of tuna in raw or cooked form.
PHOTO: ARMANDO RAFAEL/NYTIMES
3. Double the brine
If tuna were a pop star, briny ingredients such as capers, olives, pickles and kimchi would be its backing vocalists, lifting 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 a 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 will get bigger wallops.
5. Add creaminess with white beans
White beans can support the more assertive ingredients in a dish. They add creamy bites to salads, or they can be literal support, mashed into patties for frying and casseroles.
One-pan tuna-white bean casserole. Mash together beans, tuna, milk and aromatics for a comforting casserole.
PHOTO: DAVID MALOSH/NYTIMES
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 and savoury flavour to whatever it touches. In the presence of sesame oil, tuna tastes fuller and richer.
7. Layer on sliced cucumbers for juiciness
Can you really enjoy a tuna sandwich without a pickle spear alongside? The pickle jolts with brine and salt, but it is also, at its heart, a cucumber, which is juicy, crisp and sweet – all things tuna is not. That is why the two work well together.
Tuna salad sandwiches by Naz Deravian
Cover your tuna salad sandwiches with chips.
PHOTO: LINDA XIAO/NYTIMES
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 favourite loaves and chips, or skip the bread and just serve the tuna salad with chips for scooping.
Salty from the sea but not too fishy, canned tuna brings a lot to meals, with its juiciness and substantial yet delicate flakiness.
PHOTO: BOBBI LIN/NYTIMES
Ingredients
2 (150g) cans tuna in water
¼ cup plus 2 Tbs mayonnaise
½ cup finely chopped sour dill pickles (from 2 small ones)
1 large celery stalk, finely chopped
1 scallion, finely chopped
¼ cup finely chopped fresh dill or 1 Tbs dried dill
½ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
3 Tbs lemon juice
2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
¼ tsp finely ground black pepper
4 ciabatta sandwich rolls, split and lightly toasted
Potato chips, for serving
Method
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.
Makes four to six sandwiches
NYTIMES
