Thursday 10 March 2016

Tuna-Mayonaise

Avocado tuna-mayonaise on toasted rye bread
Tuna-mayonaise: quintessential British bastion of nutrition - in sandwiches, on roast potatoes, in a salad, on pasta...there is something SO comforting about this mix of 2 basic ingredients - tinned tuna and mayonnaise. Cheap, cheerful, nutritious, easy to make COMFORT food.

For those who don't know how to make this, make sure you always use tinned tuna in sunflower or olive oil. Tuna in water or brine is just way too dry, flakey and tasteless. Also, there is no point using a really high quality bonito as you can't appreciate that delicate taste when it is mashed with mayo and garnishes. 

BASIC RECIPE: Just take a tin of tuna, drain it, add a tablespoon of mayonnaise and with a fork, give it some good ol' elbow grease. This is your basic tuna-mayo for one.

Once you have mastered the basics of a tuna-mayo ( 5 minutes should do the trick), you can let your imagination run wild and add some interesting ingredients- parsley, coriander, basil, chives, finely chopped rocket, spring onions, onions, shallots, capers, olives, sun dried tomatoes, avocado, any seeds ( do toast these first except chia seeds which don't need toasting) or nuts... go on, be brave! What is the worst that can happen?- that you don't like it! That is ok, you can try again. 

AVOCADO TUNA-MAYO:
Serves 2
Ingredients:
2 tins of tuna
2 tablespoons of mayo
1/2 an avocado
A small bunch of coriander, chopped
A teaspoonful of any: finely chopped spring onions/onions/chives
Salt and Pepper
Method:
Scoop the avocado from its skin and mash it with a fork. Drain the tuna and add it and all the other ingredients except the pepper and mash away till you are happy with the consistency. Some like it roughly mashed while others like it creamy - up to you. Scoop over your favourite carb - steamed? boiled? roast? jacket? potato or pasta or rice or quinoa or.... Also yum on a salad. Mill your pepper at the end and just as you are about to take your first bite. Mmmmmm

Tuna-mayonaise on steamed potato
I sometimes make a basic tuna mayo and either add truffles or truffle oil over the top and Oh My, gourmet heaven is achieved. 


3 comments:

  1. You definitely forgot one of the three key ingredients, raw onion...for the pussi*s they can pre-masserate it in balsamic vinegar, but without raw onion, the recipe doesn't rock. Then add lashings of broken black pepper, a teaspoonful of capers, several sliced pickled gherkins and a teaspoonful of French grainy mustard (to the tuna and mayonnaise)...

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  2. I like tuna/mayo with diced cucumber and finely minced raw onion on a 21 grain bread, grilled on both sides with a lavish amount of butter. Pickles and carrots on the side. Thanks for the reminder of a delicious and simple meal!

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