TAKE A TRIP BACK IN TIME WITH THIS RETRO TUNA SALAD SANDWICH FILLING
A tangy, sweet tuna salad sandwich filling made by combining tuna with mayonnaise, ketchup, dill pickle relish, and minced white onion. This is just like the cafeteria lunch ladies prepared it back in grammar school.
I REMEMBER IT WELL
My mom always made the best tuna salad sandwich filling. Her version was a savory combination of salad olives, finely minced celery, chopped green onions, fresh lemon juice, and mayonnaise,
Summer days often meant a big pitcher of bright, sunny-yellow lemonade, a large basket of salty potato chips, and an even larger tray of tuna salad sandwich halves.
THEN, THE MOST UNBELIEVABLE SACRILEGE OCCURRED
Then, the most unbelievable sacrilege occurred — a horrific event burned into the memory of my four-year-old brain forever. My older brother, a seasoned veteran of the grammar school cafeteria at age ten, did the absolute unthinkable. He took a portion of my mom’s tuna salad and added ketchup and dill pickle relish. Gasp! Who would mess with perfection in such a crass manner?
I wouldn’t taste it because it would have been a betrayal of enormous magnitude. My mother was polite about it and simply looked away, stoically. And soon, the whole dark episode was forgotten.
EVENTUALLY I UNDERSTOOD
Later, when I anxiously began school, I foraged for even semi-palatable sustainance in the depths of an overheated, humid lunchroom. The stifling air carried an admixture of disinfectant, margarine-stained, steamed canned green beans, and ancient upchuck,
It was then that I began to appreciated the sweet, cool, tangy embrace of tuna salad made by the lunch ladies. You see, it was the only fare that kept nausea at bay.
As happens, years later, during a stressful period of time, I suddenly had a craving for that exact tuna salad.
I keep the ingredients simple, based on my brother’s “recipe.”
This recipe is relatively easy on the budget, and the ingredients come together quickly, but give the whole thing a short stay in the refrigerator to allow the flavors to blend. One thing to remember though, you want to choose tuna that you really like — some brands are just mushy and fishy, which will ruin any recipe. I prefer albacore tuna in olive oil, but you may prefer tuna packed in water.
So, strap on your hair nets ’cause here it is!
Enjoy this recipe for tuna salad sandwich filling, for old time sake!
I’d love to hear your own lunchtime memories — please use the Comments section below to describe how you navigated the school cafeteria (or, avoided it) when you were growing up.
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Passive Time | 1/2 hour (chilling time) |
| Servings |
servings
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- 2 5 ounce cans albacore tuna in olive oil rinsed, and drained
- 1/2 cup finely mince, white onion
- 6 tablespoons ketchup
- 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 4 tablespoons dill pickle relish (not sweet pickle relish) drained, then measured (you don't want the juice, just the pickles)
- 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Ingredients
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Rate this recipe!
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- In a small bowl, mix all ingredients together until well combined.
- Cover and chill in refrigerator 1/2 hour to allow flavors to meld. Use within 3 days.
Nutritional facts per serving:
209 calories
11g fat
461mg sodium
10g carbs
0.4g fiber
15g protein