Summer is a great time for salads. Here are two that I have already made several times this summer…
Tuna/Apple Salad
This was a recipe in the June 5, 2011 Parade Magazine and was listed as Sheryl Crow’s tuna salad. I made some changes, so now it’s Margaret’s Tuna/Apple Salad!
• 2 cans (3.75 oz. each) albacore tuna in water, drained
• 1 Granny Smith apple (cored and unpeeled) cut into bite-size pieces
• ½ cup finely diced celery
• 2 T. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (this is optional… if you don’t have any parsley, don’t worry about it.)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Tarragon-Lemon Mayo (see below)
Break up the tuna in a bowl. Add the apple, celery, and parsley. Add just enough of the Tarragon-Lemon mayonnaise to bind it all together. Serve on a bed of lettuce along with some of the radish salad (see recipe below) and some tasty crackers or good crusty bread.
Tarragon-Lemon Mayo
(This is the same recipe that is listed under “TV Cooks & Magazines.” It’s Rachael Ray’s recipe to use as a dip with asparagus and green beans.
• 1 cup mayonnaise (good quality mayonnaise is so important! Duke’s is the best.)
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 1 small shallot or 2-3 spring onions, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon, (4 sprigs), chopped, plus sprigs for garnish
Mix all together. Keep in an airtight container in the fridge. It’s also great as a sandwich spread instead of plain mayo.
Radish Salad
This is a super easy salad and can be served by itself or along-side many other salads… tuna salad, chicken salad, potato salad, etc.
Take one or two bunches of radishes and cut off the greens. Clean and slice thinly and place in a bowl. Add red wine vinegar and vegetable (not olive) oil … about 2 parts vinegar to 1 part oil. Toss and add salt and pepper to taste. That’s it!
Tomato-Cucumber Salad
This salad is similar to the one above... Just cut up a nice ripe tomato or two (or cherry tomatoes cut in half work well, too!) and peel and seed a cucumber and cut it up as well. Put in a bowl and add some chopped spring onion and red wine vinegar and vegetable oil and a dash of soy sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Toss and serve. Very easy!
