6 standout tuna dishes
Pan bagnat: “I love a good Niçoise salad, and this sandwich is all those great salad flavors packed into crusty and chewy bread,” Stone said. “It’s the perfect make-ahead sandwich to take to the beach or a picnic. The flavors marinate with a bit of time, but it’s just as delicious to eat straightaway.”
Tomato and tuna pasta: “I toss fresh heirloom tomatoes and oil-canned tuna into hot, drained pasta,” Selden said. “The pasta soaks up the olive oil, and the tomatoes almost blanch from the heat of the pasta. Hit it with some red pepper flakes, freshly grated Parmesan and freshly torn basil, and you’ll feel like you’re in Italy.”
Tonnato sauce: This classic Italian sauce is made with anchovies and tuna. “It’s one of the very best summer dishes,” Sandy Davis, chef for New York-based Roxo Events, said.
“I make the classic sauce for cold poached meat and a looser version to dress salads,” Zimmern said. While it came to fame as part of the dish viella tonnato, which is made with veal, you can swap out the meat in place of pasta, rice or beans, and you’ll still have a delicious meal at a lower cost.
Tuna croquettes: “One very nostalgic dish for me is my mom’s tuna croquette recipe, which involves mixing tuna, eggs and breadcrumbs, forming it into small patties, then sautéing,” Selden said. “It’s a very simple and delicious way to get kids to eat fish. It worked for my mom, and to this day we all love them.”
Tuna noodle casserole: “There isn’t a Baby Boomer around who isn’t familiar with good old tuna noodle casserole with crushed potato chips on top,” Davis said. “It’s fast, cheap and tasty. One can — or maybe two if you’ve got extra coins — will feed many folks.”
Tuna salad: “There are those times when comfort is needed, and you just have to break down and make the tuna salad of your grandmother,” Davis said. For me, that means using Miracle Whip, boiled eggs and sweet relish.”
Selden has a different take: “My go-to tuna salad uses Hellman’s mayonnaise — just enough to bind it together — freshly squeezed lemon juice, diced celery, sweet onion, green apple and lots of freshly chopped dill. The addition of tart, crunchy apples and savory dill really do the trick. Slap that between two pieces of yummy bread and add some potato chips to your sandwich for even more crunch.”
