BEING VIRTUALLY UNAWARE OF (OR OBLIVIOUS TO) the fashionable fresh tuna rage elsewhere in the country, Southerners have a veritable obsession with canned tuna and have come up with every way imaginable to transform ordinary tuna salad into dishes fit for the most gracious luncheons, bridal receptions, and picnics. In Southern delis and even cafeterias, I’ve noticed just recently tuna salads with all sorts of unusual ingredients, but one of the most exotic and delicious I’ve tasted was this curried example served at a very simple restaurant (almost a diner) near Dover, Delaware, on the scenic Delmarva Peninsula. As for the tuna itself, I use only solid white albacore (never that
chunk light mush) packed in oil (never water).
Makes 4 servings
INGREDIENTS
- Two 6-ounce cans solid white tuna in oil, drained
- 1 large tart red apple, cored and diced
- 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon mild curry powder
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Bibb lettuce cups
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place the drained tuna in a mixing bowl and flake it with a fork.
- Add the diced red apple, chopped walnuts, mayonnaise, curry powder, salt, and black pepper to the bowl.
- Stir the ingredients together until well blended.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill the tuna mixture for at least 1 hour.
- Serve the chilled tuna mixture in Bibb lettuce cups.
