This is a twist of another tuna salad recipe, which happens to use the more familiar red globe radishes. Here, black radish fills in for celery and adds a bit of contrast with its mild horseradish-like bite. You could use this tuna salad for a straight-up sandwich, but here it is paired with lettuce and tomatoes and slices of baguette for a build-your-own affair.
INGREDIENTS:
2 7-ounce cans solid white albacore tuna, packed in water, thoroughly drained 1 medium black radish, peeled 1 medium small shallot, minced 1 clove garlic, peeled 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar 3 tablespoons neutral flavored oil, or light flavored olive oil Salt and pepper to taste 1 teaspoon fresh thyme minced, or to taste 6 tablespoons mayonnaise, or as needed 1 head Butter lettuce, prepped for salad 1-2 cups ripe tomatoes, seeded and cut into ½-inch bits Real Simple Red Wine Vinaigrette as needed-Optional 20 slices of baguette, cut diagonally to 3-inches by 3/8ths inches, lightly toasted or not, your choiceMETHOD:
Put the tuna into a bowl and using your fingers (most efficient) or a fork, break up the tuna and fluff it up.
Make the dressing; Use a non-reactive bowl. Rub the bowl with the garlic clove so it leaves streaks of garlic oil behind. When the bottom of the bowl is coated, discard the garlic clove, and add the vinegar to the bowl, then season with salt and pepper and add the half the herbs. Allow flavors to marry 5 minutes. Whisk in the oil in a slow steady stream. Once all the oil is in, add the mayo a couple tablespoons at a time and whisk in until all is used and the dressing is emulsified. If the dressing seems too thin to bind the tuna add more mayonnaise until you achieve the consistency you like. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.
Taste the radish; if it is fairly spicy, you will grate the radish. If not, you can cut it into a fine dice. To make this easy, use a Ben-Riner mandolin with the medium comb, or any fixed-blade slicer, to cut the radish into matchsticks. Then stack the sticks and cut into small dice. Or, simply use a grater with large holes to grate the radish.
When the radish is done, add to the tuna along with the shallot and mix in. Scatter with the rest of the thyme and mix in. Stir in the dressing, using only half to start, and mix in. Add dressing as needed to get the texture you prefer (some like tuna salad “wet”, others more “dry”). When done, place in refrigerator to chill.
When ready to serve, prep the lettuce and tomatoes. If you wish, dress the lettuce with just a little of the vinaigrette-just enough to moisten the leaves, and place some in the center of four plates. Give the plate a quick little tug to spread the lettuces evenly, then place a quarter of the tuna salad slightly off center and down to the right of center. Place the chopped tomatoes against the tuna running from 12 o’clock to nine o’clock. Tile the baguette slices in the upper left quarter and serve. OR, you just put the tuna salad in the center of the salad and scatter the tomatoes around and pile the bread into a basket, and serve.
Chef’s Note’s: Dressing the lettuce makes this dish more of a salad I suppose, but it works fine if the lettuces are dry. Adding the dressing adds depth to the whole thing, as well as making it less likely the lettuce will slip off the bread if you add it along with the tuna. If you have some quickled onion or shallot, or cauliflower or carrots, or even just some store-bought sweet pickle chips, they would be a nice foil.
Serves: 4
Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen
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