Tonnino Tuna Salad Revelation

[ScottinPollock]

Big fan of tuna salad, and for quite some time have used Wild Planet Canned Skipjack Wild Tuna. Don’t really have a recipe… just throw together finely chopped celery, onion, capers, sweet relish, spices, sometimes a dash of mustard/wine vinegar/citrus/Worcestershire. Mix it all up with the tuna and then add enough mayo for the right texture.

But recently I have switched to Tonnino Yellowfin Tuna Fillets in Olive Oil. I think I have made three or four batches of it using a similar method… definitely better texture and noticeably better taste, but not all that different.

Last night I did the same, but after extracting the tuna from the jar to the bowl of assembled ingredients, there were some smaller pieces at the bottom of the jar which I just dug out with a fork and downed. Holy crap!!!

It was delicious, and I could sit down and eat the whole jar of this stuff… slightly salty, savory, and a wonderfully light tuna flavor and texture. And I quickly came to the conclusion I have been ruining this stuff by adding all of the aforementioned ingredients.

So no more relish, onion, Worcestershire, and maybe even less of all this stuff. Use more of the enclosed olive oil and less mayo or some yogurt (or maybe even none). Possibly a dash of mustard and/or vinegar, capers, and some fresh herbs (parsley, dill, chives).

Any of you use this for tuna salad, and if so how do you make it?

[MunchkinRedux]

I don’t use this particular brand of tuna, but keep several varieties around. For a mayo-based salad, I only use tuna canned in water. Anything I have in olive oil is typically tasty enough to consume with minimal prep. YMMV.

[ScottinPollock]

@MunchkinRedux

minimal prep

Please describe.

[shrinkrap]

I use the Tonnino ventresca in a nicoise salad.

My daughter eats it straight out of the jar. I save the oil, but can’t remember the last way I used it.

[anaxgorous]

i use Tonnino for tuna salad and nicoise almost exclusively. delicious. i make a tuna salad using the classic ingredients but less of them, and more olive oil.

ortiz is also good. but when i can find it, try to get a few cans of ‘Dave’s’. i have a local distributor of it, but not sure how far it gets distributed from the West coast. it’s hook and line caught and quite expensive. example (this is the smoked variety, which i often put on a bagel):

[Meekah]

My favorite.

[shrinkrap]

Mine too, but $$$.I snap it up if it ever goes on sale.

[Saregama]

I use Ortiz and Tonnino interchangeably.

This is one of my favorite ways to eat it, but more often than not I’ll mince some red onion and serrano (cilantro if I have it) and mix it in with black pepper and a good squeeze of lemon, then eat it with toast. If I’m doing this, I don’t drain it, the juices and olive oil just get mixed in.

Excellent just out of the can without anything added, though. Maybe just that squeeze of lime.

If you like sardines, the Ortiz sardines are really good too. Matiz as well.

[Meekah]

The ventresca also comes in smaller tins. I often order those so I can have one serving.

[shrinkrap]

Good idea!

[Meekah]

I’ve never seen them in the store, but I order them online from various places. A carton has 6 tins.

[shrinkrap]

Yes; I’ve bought them on Amazon in the past.

[Meekah]

These days I try to buy foodstuffs online from vendors other than Amazon. Because glass. Because Broken Glass. Glass and Amazon just don’t mix I’m happy I just found a place that had my favorite jarred baby clam in stock.

[MunchkinRedux]

Maybe a little vinaigrette. Maybe nothing.

[shrinkrap]

I remember making this one as well.

White Bean and Tuna Salad Recipe

[ipsedixit]

I just eat it over rice, with a light drizzle of soy sauce and a good healthy dose of furikake seasoning.

[celeryvictor]

@anaxgorous

ortiz is also good. but when i can find it, try to get a few cans of ‘Dave’s’.

I love Dave’s, but haven’t seen it in some time – I used to get it at Whole Foods. Where do you find it?

[jammy]

Another good tuna brand is Callipo. The cans are easy to store and transport, the brand is widely available, and it tastes good. Tuna salad includes whatever veg I feel like having that day, chopped small, a little salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon. I often drain a way a little of the oil, but keep most of it.

[anaxgorous]

i get it from from June at one our farmers markets, so not very helpful. i’ve seen it at Whole Foods as well, but probably not for awhile. i’ll ask them what the deal is, next time i’m at their stand.