Tuna Salad with Cherries and Walnuts.
A place in town makes a Tuna Salad with Cherries and Walnuts but they use chicken. That’s fine, and canned salmon is also an option. Result: turns a boring but reliable sandwich staple or salad into something much more interesting. Make enough for 2-3 servings on lettuce or in a sandwich.
Ingredients:
2 5-oz cans tuna (or one equivalent large can), preferably packed in oil; can substitute chicken or canned flaked salmon
¼ c mayonnaise (or more*)
¼ c toasted walnuts (if raw, cook over low heat in a skillet till they become aromatic)
¼ c celery, chopped
¼ dried cherries, preferably Bella Viva, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Thin sliced red onions, for sandwiches
Method: mix all ingredients in a bowl and let the flavors settle for half an hour or more. (The cherries should flavor the mix as they reanimate.) For salad, just dump a scoop on some of them micro greens. If serving on sandwiches, put mayo on two slices of hearty bread (I used a spelt loaf from Berkshire Mountain Bakery today), add a generous scoop of salad and then a little more, press with knife or spoon to extend the filling all the way to the edges of the sandwich. Layer on thin sliced red onions, slice in half and serve.
*I tend to make my sandwiches too dry for imagined healthy reasons then add extra mayo. You do the same; your result will still be more “healthy” than the sandwich from your neighborhood bodega.
