My son doesn’t care for artichokes. I love them. They’re in season now, and I had one in the fridge, so I decided today is the day I’m going to eat that artichoke. I trimmed it, gave it a lemon juice bath, and steamed it in a pot earlier this afternoon. As you can see, it’s gorgeous. And better to eat it now while it’s still bordering on fresh. But what to go with?
I’m a bit low on fresh protein at the moment, such that last night’s hard-boiled Seder egg seemed an obvious choice. Egg salad for one? With one egg? I briefly entertained the thought of crumbling in some cheddar, when I realized a tin of tuna would transform my egg salad into a texturally interesting tuna salad. I rummaged around for the last two stalks of celery, and tore off some green onion and parsley from the bouquets that adorn my kitchen. (I’m regrowing the celery, but the stalks are currently rather small.)
Something herbal, something green. What else? Aha! That lemon I cut open earlier to bathe the artichoke would go very nicely with tuna in olive oil, and herbal greens. A few squeezes of lemon juice, and what the hell, why not some thinly sliced lemon rind too? Yes, rind. What’s that face you’re making? Zest? Fuck zest. It’s in there with the rind. Use the whole thing! Some lemon rinds are sweeter than others, but they’re all delicious. I know, because I eat them. I’m a freak.
In go the spices—cumin, black pepper, smoked paprikas, both sweet and spicy. Some ground coriander. And a little diced red onion, from the leftover half onion I’ve been steadily nursing, that lives in the fridge.
Mix well, add some decent mayonnaise (I like the kind with the monocled dude with a top hat on the label—I’ve grown shockingly dependent on high quality mayonnaise, as yogurt is scarce), and put it all on a garlicky poppyseed laden everything matza, which I feel must have been invented for a dinner just like this. I cut the stem off the artichoke and sliced it thinly. This serves as the photogenic—and crunchy—topping for my open-faced sandwich. A few more paper-thin slices of lemon rind too. Oh, man. I’m so ready to eat. If I’m lucky, I’ll have enough left over for brunch tomorrow.
tuna salad borne of leftovers
- 1 hard-boiled egg left over from your Seder or Easter preparations or, just, you know, boil an egg
- 1 can tuna in olive oil or water, whatever you’ve got
- some parsley leaves, finely chopped
- a sprig of green onion, finely chopped
- 2 small stalks celery, finely chopped, leaves too! (they impart so much flavor)
- a few thin slices of a red onion, minced, or any onion you half used and put in the fridge
- 1 generous tablespoon of good mayonnaise, or whatever binding agent you like
- a quarter of a lemon you cut open earlier, a small piece of the rind sliced into paper thin slices
- ground cumin
- black pepper
- smoked paprikas—-hot and sweet
- ground coriander seed
- salt, only if the tuna is unsalted
- matza, crackers, bread, whatever ya got
- cooked artichoke (optional)
- Peel and coarsely chop the egg, and place it in a small bowl.
- Add the can of tuna, with the olive oil. If you’re using tuna canned in water, drain the water.
- Add all the other ingredients, except the lemon, artichoke, and carbohydrate base. Mix well to combine. Use your judgment with the spices. You know what you like.
- Squeeze some lemon into the salad. Finely chop some of the paper thin lemon rind and mix it into the salad. Taste and correct seasoning. More lemon juice? Why not?
- Put a generous helping of tuna salad on your carbohydrate of choice. If you have an artichoke you cooked earlier, peel off the fibrous part of the stem, cut the stem off, then slice it into thin sticks. Place the artichoke sticks and thinly sliced lemon rind on top of your tuna salad, so you can pretend you’re eating a leisurely meal at a good restaurant.
- Don’t write up the recipe for your blog and take photos with circles and arrows on the back of each one, as you want your matza to stay crisp and nubile.
