Parmesan-Curry-Cashew Tuna Salad

By Natalie Eve Garrett September 16, 2013

I thought summer was ending when I took this picture out my window on September 1st. But of course, it suddenly got hot and lazy again, and this weekend my daughter was back to wading in the cold creek, pitching rocks, and cracking up as the water soaked us both. Afterwards, when we were both impossibly muddy, I just wanted to come inside, turn on the ceiling fans, slouch into my chair, and gobble up something cool and delicious. Lately she’s been hooked on cream cheese and jam on toast, with lettuce, chickpeas and yogurt on the side. But maybe because it’s September — a new year! — I felt ready for change.

This tuna salad recipe (adapted from this) is a delightful combination of salty, sweet, spicy, nutty, and smooth. I’ve never been much of tuna salad eater, but this recipe won me over. The parmesan-curry-cashew blend pairs wonderfully with tuna, but also with canned or fresh salmon, a cup of chopped chicken breast or a cup of chopped, sautéed tempeh. And, it comes together reasonably quickly, even for the exhausted and/or mud-coated. Leftovers keep well for a couple of days in the fridge.

Also: did you know that there are BPA-free cans of tuna? Now we just need to stuff mercury-free sustainably-caught tuna into the BPA-free cans, and it’ll be perfect.

Ingredients

1 7 oz can of tuna

2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated or shredded

1 tablespoon mayonnaise (I used that weird soy kind)

1/4 cup red onion, finely diced

2 tablespoons chopped cashews

1/4–1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1 teaspoon dried dill

1 teaspoon dried parsley

2 tablespoons golden raisins (optional but highly recommended)

Directions

Combine ingredients and mix well.

Add more curry powder, salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle a few extra cashews and/or golden raisins on top.

I like serving it wrapped inside crisp lettuce, alongside a bunch of those amazing crunchy pickling cucumbers they have at my farmer’s market now (which are also good chopped up in this salad, though I usually prefer to just chomp on them). Like many of the finer things in life, this is also great on toast.

Natalie Eve Garrett is an artist who loves disgustingly good food.