"the best tuna salad"

I'm not kidding.  I have a recipe for the tastiest, best-textured tuna salad I've ever had.  And yes, you do need a recipe for tuna salad.  Plus, making easy flavorful lunches is what I'm all about during the school year.

I've had a love/hate relationship with canned tuna over the course of my life.  When I was little, I don't think I knew that it was fish.  And once I realized that it was not some sort of canned chicken, I was done.  Since then, I've been back and forth, craving tuna salad and then taking a hiatus after gagging on the fish taste.  I recently got over my fish issues (Japan had a great deal to do with that), so I was ready to hop back on the tuna saddle.  I know that's a catfish--use your imagination.  

image from cowancollectionanimation.blogspot.com

I have tried many different kinds of canned tuna with varied satisfaction.  At the suggestion of Cook's Country, I'm sticking with white albacore packed in water from now on.  I ate some of this on a spinach flatbread with lettuce and tomato today.  So good.

The Best Tuna Salad
from Cook's Country magazine

3 cans white albacore tuna packed in water
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 c minced onion
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp sugar
salt & pepper
1/2 c plus 2 tbsp mayo
1 celery stalk, minced (I always skip this because I don't like crunchy tuna salad)

Drain tuna and pat dry with paper towel (so the olive oil won't bead up on the water).  Microwave olive oil and minced onion for about 2 minutes, until onion begins to soften.  Mix onion mixture with tuna, lemon juice, sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper.  Let marinate for 10 minutes.  Stir in mayonnaise.  You can add dill or roasted red peppers and capers for something different.

Oh, and by the way, this is me.