Cooking for One: Tuna Salad
When John and I decided to try bicoastal living, one of the things that meant was spending some stretches of time apart. It’s not my favorite situation but I don’t allow myself to whine about it, not only because we chose it (and, if you believe in astrology, I am enough of a Capricorn that I cannot abide to whimper about anything that happened as the result of a choice), but because couples spend time apart all the time – often longer than we do, and often for reasons much more serious, from health to military service.
However, it has meant relearning an essential survival skill: feeding oneself. Cooking for two or a crowd, if not always simple (though not always complicated either), is rewarding, but how often cooking for one seems like a chore. Despite very good resources spanning legends from the Culinary Institute to Judith Jones, we often balk at cooking for ourselves. Thus, as committed to when I wrote about 2012 at its dawn, I am managing change and challenge as opportunities for growth and fulfillment, and inaugurating a new area of content at Urban Home Blog: Cooking for One.
It is appropriate that the first entry in Cooking for One is tuna salad, for that in turn was my first food column. I wrote about tuna salad eons ago for a now defunct food property as the first entry in a series of columns focusing on comfort food. I didn’t write that column from the point of view of cooking for one, I wrote it as a straightforward food column with a recipe. But in the years that have passed since I first published my original recipe for tuna salad, I have perfected it; and in the weeks that have passed since John and I have started splitting our time not just a continent but between ourselves, I have learned that making tuna salad is among a single cook’s (and eater’s) essential skills.
Not the least of reasons for this is that almost anywhere you turn, the tuna salad you find is awful. There are shelf versions of it that are laden with chemicals and redolent of their own packaging and there are deli counter versions of it that are prepared for bulk and with indifference. Yes, of course there are good versions as well, from your local lunch counter to your grandmother’s luncheon table, and bless you if you have access to any such. In New York, a local deli used to make a lovely version with cilantro and jalapenos before the property changed hands and fuggeddaboudit. I also love a Mediterranean tuna salad, but this is grandma’s classic mayo-based kind. Don’t worry, it isn’t gluey or gloppy or runny. It’s substantial, flavorful, and always ready to feed you. Once you master this recipe, your only remaining task will be to determine your preferred accommodations for it: a slab of wheat toast, two soft slices of white bread, traditional saltines, or adventurous whole grain crackers. In our urban homes, we like the last – that is, when we bother to restrain ourselves from eating tuna salad directly from the bowl we mixed it in.
In our urban home, we eat not just tuna salad but sushi and sashimi, so we believe we are obligated to educate ourselves about issues surrounding tuna for human food consumption. When buying tuna for food, it is important to only purchase that that has been humanely caught and processed. The primary issues with tuna both have to do with fishing practices; the related issue is mercury level. In the grocery store, most canned tuna (including that in the pouch) is albacore, which is abundant in the Pacific ocean and less abundant in other waters. Trolling and pole-and-line fishing result in a very low percentage of bycatch -- the terrible situation where species other than the one being sought are caught in the catch. Tuna fishing performed by long line evidences a high incidence of bycatch, often with such tragic results as unnecessary and non-food related fatalities among those other species, including sea turtles, dolphins and sharks. Regarding mercury level, that is at a relatively low level with troll- and pole- fishing and at a high level with longline fishing.
Unfortunately, labeling requirements don't do much to compel canneries to report on the catch location and fishing method of the contents. In the store, look for albacore labeled "canned white," hopefully indicating that it was troll- or pole-caught in the Pacific ocean. To learn more, visit the Monterey Aquarium's Seafood Watch site (a serious plus in the California column if ever there was one), and consider supporting this important work not just with your own behavior in the marketplace and in the kitchen but with your donations of effort, funds and, most importantly, commitment.
TUNA SALAD
Good whole grain crackers should be a staple in your urban pantry – we like Vinta. Do not skip the step of draining the tuna -- it is essential to avoiding watery tuna salad. Small mesh colandars and sieves are essential items for your urban kitchen -- they are widely available, and here is a good online source.
1 lemon
1 dill pickle
Mayonnaise
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon celery seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground paprika
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
However, it has meant relearning an essential survival skill: feeding oneself. Cooking for two or a crowd, if not always simple (though not always complicated either), is rewarding, but how often cooking for one seems like a chore. Despite very good resources spanning legends from the Culinary Institute to Judith Jones, we often balk at cooking for ourselves. Thus, as committed to when I wrote about 2012 at its dawn, I am managing change and challenge as opportunities for growth and fulfillment, and inaugurating a new area of content at Urban Home Blog: Cooking for One.
It is appropriate that the first entry in Cooking for One is tuna salad, for that in turn was my first food column. I wrote about tuna salad eons ago for a now defunct food property as the first entry in a series of columns focusing on comfort food. I didn’t write that column from the point of view of cooking for one, I wrote it as a straightforward food column with a recipe. But in the years that have passed since I first published my original recipe for tuna salad, I have perfected it; and in the weeks that have passed since John and I have started splitting our time not just a continent but between ourselves, I have learned that making tuna salad is among a single cook’s (and eater’s) essential skills.
Not the least of reasons for this is that almost anywhere you turn, the tuna salad you find is awful. There are shelf versions of it that are laden with chemicals and redolent of their own packaging and there are deli counter versions of it that are prepared for bulk and with indifference. Yes, of course there are good versions as well, from your local lunch counter to your grandmother’s luncheon table, and bless you if you have access to any such. In New York, a local deli used to make a lovely version with cilantro and jalapenos before the property changed hands and fuggeddaboudit. I also love a Mediterranean tuna salad, but this is grandma’s classic mayo-based kind. Don’t worry, it isn’t gluey or gloppy or runny. It’s substantial, flavorful, and always ready to feed you. Once you master this recipe, your only remaining task will be to determine your preferred accommodations for it: a slab of wheat toast, two soft slices of white bread, traditional saltines, or adventurous whole grain crackers. In our urban homes, we like the last – that is, when we bother to restrain ourselves from eating tuna salad directly from the bowl we mixed it in.
In our urban home, we eat not just tuna salad but sushi and sashimi, so we believe we are obligated to educate ourselves about issues surrounding tuna for human food consumption. When buying tuna for food, it is important to only purchase that that has been humanely caught and processed. The primary issues with tuna both have to do with fishing practices; the related issue is mercury level. In the grocery store, most canned tuna (including that in the pouch) is albacore, which is abundant in the Pacific ocean and less abundant in other waters. Trolling and pole-and-line fishing result in a very low percentage of bycatch -- the terrible situation where species other than the one being sought are caught in the catch. Tuna fishing performed by long line evidences a high incidence of bycatch, often with such tragic results as unnecessary and non-food related fatalities among those other species, including sea turtles, dolphins and sharks. Regarding mercury level, that is at a relatively low level with troll- and pole- fishing and at a high level with longline fishing.
Unfortunately, labeling requirements don't do much to compel canneries to report on the catch location and fishing method of the contents. In the store, look for albacore labeled "canned white," hopefully indicating that it was troll- or pole-caught in the Pacific ocean. To learn more, visit the Monterey Aquarium's Seafood Watch site (a serious plus in the California column if ever there was one), and consider supporting this important work not just with your own behavior in the marketplace and in the kitchen but with your donations of effort, funds and, most importantly, commitment.
TUNA SALAD
Good whole grain crackers should be a staple in your urban pantry – we like Vinta. Do not skip the step of draining the tuna -- it is essential to avoiding watery tuna salad. Small mesh colandars and sieves are essential items for your urban kitchen -- they are widely available, and here is a good online source.
2 5-ounce cans of white albacore tuna packed in water
1 small white onion1 lemon
1 dill pickle
Mayonnaise
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon celery seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground paprika
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
- Place a small mesh colander over a bowl. Open the cans and decant the tuna into the colandar. Use a small silicon spatula to get all of the tuna from the inside of the can. Use the spatula to stir the tuna in the colandar. Let the tuna drain while you prepare the other ingredients.
- Peel the onion and remove the root and stem ends. Place the onion on a clean cutting board. Halve the onion from root to stem; halve each half. Cut each quarter into thin crescents. Cut across the crescents to form dice. Scrape the diced onion into a mixing bowl.
- Run the lemon under your palm along the counter. Cut the lemon in half and use a lemon press to juice the lemon halves over the diced onion, working over a sieve to catch any pith or seeds.
- Place the dill pickle on the cutting board. Halve the pickle from stem to blossom end. Cut each half into strips from stem to blossom end; you should be able to get 3 to 4 strips from each half.
- For each half, stack the strips flat side down on the board. Cut along the stack from stem to blossom end to form thin stripes. Cut across the strips to form dice. Scrape the diced pickle into the bowl containing the lemon and onion.
- Sprinkle the lemon-onion-pickle mixture with the parsley, celery seeds, paprika, a pinch of salt, and several grindings of fresh black pepper. Use the small spatula to combine all of the ingredients.
- Gently jiggle the drained tuna to express all of the water from the tuna. Use the small spatula to move the tuna around in the strainer in order to express all of the water. Discard the drained packing water.
- Transfer the drained tuna from the strainer to the bowl containing the seasoning mixture. Use the small spatula to mix the ingredients together, breaking up large chunks of tuna if any as you mix.
- Add mayonnaise to the mixture 1 spoonful at a time until you achieve the consistency you like; typically between 2 and 4 tablespoons. Use the spatula to thoroughly mix the ingredients.
- If not serving immediately, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
thank you so much
ReplyDeletehttp://encyclopediatabkhe.blogspot.com/2012/08/Preparation-couscous.html