I can eat summer salads year round. Here's one of the salads I've been eating this summer, especially when I need a quick protein-plus-greens fix.

I used to keep a stash of tuna and salmon cans in the back corner of my pantry for the day a major disaster occurs. I never ended up using them though—instead I eventually donated them to food drives at school and elsewhere.

Then one week this summer I ran out of protein options and grabbed a solitary can of tuna. And went to town. Mayo, pickles, honey, lemon, and so on. I did this for a week and settled into this recipe.

The lemon honey mayonnaise is an important part of the recipe, for me, but that said, you can use this simple mayonnaise or plant-powered mayonnaise, and then add some lemon and honey to the tuna salad mixture with equally good results.

If you're in search of a similar salad that doesn't use mayonnaise, try my Asian chicken salad in lettuce cups.

Pickles are a great salad edition when you need a dash of saltiness to make the flavor pop a bit. I recommend my quick & east refrigerator pickles. And here's a slightly more elaborate dill pickle recipe if you're up for it.

Oh, and that bread you see in the background is my own version of this life-changing bread, pecan-raisin style.

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Tuna Salad with Pickles & Greens

I've also used salmon in this recipe with great success. Fresh or canned fish will work, in any case. I like Wild Skipjack Light Tuna brand in cans.

Also note that I like using butter lettuce for the lettuce cups you see in the photo above. I can also purchase it "live" which means the lettuce head has it's root ball intact, so I store it covered in the refrigerator and keep the root ball moist with a bit of water or a wet paper towel. It lasts for at least a week this way.

Servings: servings

Calories: 177kcal

Ingredients

5 ounces Tuna drain water if using a can
2 tablespoons mayonnaise (see my lemon honey mayo recipe below)
½ cup red onion slices about ¼ of one medium red onion
1 cup tender greens
¼ cup pickles quick & east pickles
pinch of salt up to ⅛ teaspoon

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Add all the ingredients to a food processor and pulse a few times, or until it's the consistency you prefer.
Eat! Store covered in the refrigerator for a few days.

Nutrition

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Lemon Honey Mayonnaise

Feel free to use your oil of choice; grape seed, safflower, or sunflower are oils that impart a less distinct flavor but they are highly processed; sesame and nut oils are less so, and produce a nice mayonnaise; a light olive oil is a great choice as well.

Drizzle the oil in slowly so that the processor has time to fully emulsify the oil into the egg mixture. If the oil is separating from the mixture, you probably need to slow down the drizzle. You can store mayo in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for a few weeks.

Servings: tablespoons

Calories: 118kcal

Ingredients

1 large egg
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon mustard any mild yellow mustard will work
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup oil

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

In a food processor or blender, add the mustard, egg, lemon juice, and honey.
Turn your processor on high and slowly drizzle the oil in the mixture – add it to the small opening on top that many processors and blenders provide.
Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for a few weeks.