Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Tuna Salad with Dill


Tonight's dinner came together in the way it does so rarely.  The fridge really needed to get cleaned out, but I didn't particularly care to send everything on its way to the compost bin. I couldn't stomach eating the rest of the cottage cheese as a snack again. Do you ever do that-- get something that you really enjoy for the first couple of times, and then it just sits there until you toss it? Even though John and I both like cottage cheese (LE, not so much), we didn't finish it off.

Back to tonight...

I needed to make dinner, and I was determined to figure out how to use up what was in our fridge.  For whatever the reason, tuna salad with dill sounded good. We have dill growing outside and tuna in our pantry. Considering I rarely eat tuna salad and have never included dill before, I consulted my usual food sites to search and then headed to google to see what the top results are. Sure, I could throw together a tuna salad, but I just wanted to be sure I wasn't missing some incredibly smart ingredient that pairs perfectly with tuna and dill.

The very first recipe I clicked on had exactly what I was looking for. It's as if the ingredients were taken from the inventory of my fridge.

The fridge had half a lemon, 1/3 cup of cottage cheese, the bottom of the Dijon jar, a big spoonful of capers, a stalk of celery, a little more than a quarter of a purple onion, half a pita, and an accidental purchase of 2 heads of lettuce.

The recipe called for exactly those quantities (except the lettuce; that would be insane). Don't you just love it when the stars align? Ok, I don't really believe in that, but it was certainly serendipitous.

I never had heard of cottage cheese in tuna salad, but I thought I'd give it a try. As it turns out, it's just a healthier substitute for mayo and boiled eggs.

I'm not going to pretend that this is something that it's not. It's not something you'd make for company. This tuna salad is great for eating alone or with your family. If you're looking for something healthy, quick, and simple-- this is for you!


Tuna Salad with Dill
Adapted slightly from Simply Recipes

Ingredients
2 cans of tuna, drained, rinsed, and patted dry
1/3 cup of cottage cheese
2 tablespoons of mayo
1/4 purple onion, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1 tablespoon of capers
Juice of half a lemon
1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon of fresh dill, minced
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
freshly ground pepper, to taste (I added about 3/4 teaspoon)

Combine all items in a bowl and serve on top of lettuce, in a pita, on toast... I think everyone knows how to eat tuna salad. ;)

Enjoy!

3 comments:

  1. Looks really yum. thanks for sharing.

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  2. I love tuna salad and like to make it for lunch. I have been thinking of planting some dill so this will be a great combo to try once I do. Thanks!

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  3. Looks good! I like the cottage cheese to cut the mayo trick. Will definitely try this soon! Thanks and all best!

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