Wow! Capers… who would’ve thought. LOL!
I never did. Sicilians never focus on tuna salad. Not one of the go to foods in my family. In fact the family loathes American food. Once I got scolded by my Godmother years ago for even mentioning that I just love macaroni & cheese.
Will buy them Thursday. Hopefully my stupidmarket has Cento. Thanks !!!
So guessing you never read my first post to your thread?
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When did we learn you are Sicilian?
I must have missed that.
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My friends like to put chopped capers and pickled cocktail onions (the white ones, not the yellow ones) in their tuna salad.
personally I like the pickled ‘cocktail’ onions, but DW has a thing about them . . .
might sneak some in next go-round…
Sorry, you are correct. You mentioned it first. Thanks for pointing that out. My bad : )
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My friends … the husband makes this version for his wife. She is very happy …
Well I made the tuna salad last night and will eat it tonight for dinner. Want the flavors to meld first. Used 4 cans of tuna, almost the full jar of CENTO capers (4 tablespoons), a little lemon juice just to dampen while I chopped/ground it all up with soft white bread added in the Cuisinart. Proper amount of finely diced celery too. And a good amount of regular Hellman’s. Came out like a paste the way it should. The wife tasted it this morning and she could not believe how good it is. I am waiting till dinner. So far I think that was the magic ingredient. No, I did NOT grind up the celery, that was added last with the mayo.
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FANTASTIC ! Night and day difference. THAT is how to make tuna salad. Wow. Other than maybe extra celery and trying HD mayo - I don’t think it gets better. First time in my life I had to force myself to stop eating it. I ate 4 sandwiches for dinner and could have continued. And I confirmed to myself that onions are not needed. In fact onions in tuna to me hurts the flavor. All those wasted years of eating inferior homemade tuna salad. Never thought or was told of capers. Flower buds made all the difference. Incredible.
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I gave the wife the rest to be nice. She said it was the best tuna salad she ever had. I just could not stop eating it. So tonight I will make the exact recipe but with chicken breast instead. Will poach the breasts in salted water for 10 minutes first to cook them. Then into the Cuisinart the same way.
One simple ingredient turned a blah dish into a delicacy. I never would’ve guessed to use capers.
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Nice to see a satisfied customer If this tuna habit becomes regular, you can buy a large jar of capers at Costco for only slightly more $ than a small jar at the grocery.
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Very grateful indeed. And that is a great idea. Because I am sure they can last in the fridge a long time like pickles. We do have a membership at Sam’s Club - same thing as Costco. Also we have something called Ocean State Job Lot here and they have a section of marinated products & such and should have the capers. And their items are less expensive than regular supermarkets. I am expecting superb chicken salad tonight.
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I ski with a group of Italians each year, and one of them brings what she calls tuna pâté, as a spread. It’s basically tuna salad made with cream cheese instead of mayo, and includes chopped basil and maybe capers. She’s from Trentino, though, not Sicily.
I like Italian tuna dishes I have tried.
One of my favourite tuna sandwiches in Toronto is from an an Italian bakery/restaurant. It’s amazing. It isn’t the deli mayo type, it’s a panini on excellent bread. Mattachioni’ s tuna sandwich
, the San Marcobruno Bakeries in [Toronto] - #26 by Phoenikia
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I think you are spot-on about the mushy homogeneous texture. And +1 to everyone who said heavy duty mayo.
I love capers; my favorite brand: Roland, hard to find. I ordered from Walmart, had to order 6 jars, gave 3 to friends. They are tiny capers.
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You are conjuring the flavor profile of tonnato sauce. If you aren’t familiar with it, do yourself a favor and use this sauce with cold sliced veal or pork tenderloin, or chicken breast. I think you’ll be a happy camper. (I even use it with purchased deli thin sliced roast beef.)
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Now that the mystery has been solved… anyone put fruit in their chicken salad? My wife’s family dices apples and grapes into the final mix. They also blend the chicken into almost a powder as a first step.
It’s not bad but just seems a bit weird. I also prefer my chicken salad with shredded chicken (fairly large pieces, I mean) rather than the powderized.
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