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 hit us. 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 I landed on this recipe.
At the same time, Kirby pickling cucumbers were starting to show up in the market, so I made a batch of simple refrigerator pickles as well. Pickles are a great salad edition when you need a dash of sour saltiness to make the flavor pop a bit. And here’s a slightly more elaborate dill pickle recipe if you’re up for it.
The lemon honey mayonnaise is an important part of the recipe, for me, but that said, you can use this simple mayonnaise or another, 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.
Oh, and that bread you see in the background is my own little version of this life-changing bread, pecan-raisin style. I’ll share it later.
Tuna Salad
I’ve also used salmon in this recipe with great success. Fresh or canned fish will work, in any case. I’m in love with this brand, including the name of the tuna: Wild Skipjack Light Tuna. Makes me happy to say it.
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!
Ingredients
- 5 ounces tuna, drained of water
- 1 to 2 tablespoons lemon honey mayonnaise (see below)
- a cross-slice (90 g) red onion, cut into chunks
- a handful (10 g), parsley, spinach, or other mild greens
- 1/4 cup pickles
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- pinch of salt (no more than 1/8 teaspoon)
Method
- 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.
Serves 2
Servings: 2; Calories: 170; Fat: 4 g; Carb 18 g ; Fiber 1 g; Protein 17 g; Sugar 15 g; Sodium 178 mg; Cholesterol 27 mg.
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.
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon mustard
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 cup of oil (mild flavor)
Method
- 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.
Servings: 30; Calories: 69; Fat: 7 g; Carb 1 g ; Fiber 0 g; Protein 0 g; Sugar 1 g; Sodium 4 mg; Cholesterol 6 mg.
Refrigerator Pickles {quick & easy}
Feel free to add some fresh chopped dill or other pickling ingredients. I just wanted to show the fastest and simplest way to pack your fridge with pickles. I also add 1 teaspoon of honey to my pickles, and this is optional; I like my pickles to have a slightly sweet, relish-like taste to them. To keep it pure, you may want to use distilled water or water that is not chlorinated to lacto-ferment your pickles. Either way, they taste great!
Here are some tips on making pickes:
- Wash and dry your jars, preferably in the dishwasher so they’re free of stray mold and bacteria
- Scrub or remove any bad spots on your cucumbers
- The brine is what protects you from getting sick, so don’t reduce the amount of salt or vinegar.
Ingredients
- 8 (800 g) Kirby pickling cucumbers
- 4 teaspoons kosher or pickling salt (add a bit more if using fine salt)
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
Method
- Slice your pickles. I slice them about 1/4 inch (.635 cm) thick.
- Divide the pickles and remaining ingredients between 2 quart-size jars, or jars that will fit the pickles with some room to spare.
- Shake the jars to distribute the salt and vinegar mix. The liquid will be quite low, but give it a few hours while the salt extracts more water from the cucumbers.
- Share the jars after an hour to keep the brine working evenly.
- The pickles will be ready after a few hours, but overnight will get you a full-on pickle.
- Store for a few months in the refrigerator.
Fills 2 one quart jars of cucumbers
Servings: 30; Calories: 33; Fat: 0 g; Carb 8 g ; Fiber 1 g; Protein 1 g; Sugar 4 g; Sodium 314 mg; Cholesterol 0 mg.
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