Ed: To me, a comfort food is like a hug from my mom in any season of the year. Eating this dish feels like getting a big embrace from her. Mom´s middle name was Victoria, and she would serve this salad as a first course. It’s one of my favorite foods, and I am excited to share it with you as a perfect example of how cold dishes can also be comfort foods.
You have probably eaten tuna salad and potato salad many times. This dish combines the two, in a way, but I´d bet you never really thought about how Peruvian these ingredients are.
Peru, my homeland, is located in western South America and was the center of the Inca Empire. The Incas developed a wide variety of food crops, among them the popular potato. The simple word “potato,” though, hides its greatness; as a matter of fact, there are 3 or 4 thousand (!) different varieties of this unique tuber in the Peruvian highlands, and they come in an amazing variety of colors, shapes, and textures. About a dozen varieties are commonly available for daily consumption there, and a Peruvian cook always knows which kind to get for a specific use (mashed potatoes, fries, in a stew, etc.)
The second ingredient in my comfort dish is tuna, one of about 50 species commercially fished off Peru´s shores and one that is popular with people in that country and around the world. (Peru´s fishing industry is one of the largest in the world.) For this recipe we will use the easily obtainable canned tuna, an inexpensive protein and staple in most kitchen pantries.
(Don’t miss this other wonderful comfort food: Peruvian Pumpkin Stew or Locro de zapallo.)
Victoria’s Tuna and Potato Salad
A cross between potato salad and tuna salad, this is an easy to prepare, economical, hearty, and delicious comfort food. Naturally gluten-free.
Ingredients
- 5 medium-large waxy potatoes (or white all-purpose potatoes)
- 1/2 yellow onion
- 3 cans (5 oz. /142 grams each) chunk tuna drained
- 1/4 cup cilantro leaves finely chopped
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise optional
- 1/4 cup freshly-squeezed lime juice
-
1/4
teaspoon
freshly-ground black pepper - 1/2 teaspoon salt divided
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 5 leaves lettuce optional
- 3 eggs hard boiled, peeled, and sliced
Instructions
-
Boil the potatoes, peel on, in abundant water until you can easily insert a fork. Pour off the water, then peel the potatoes and allow them to cool to room temperature.
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Peel and finely dice the onion. Place it in a strainer and rinse it briefly under running water. (Do not rinse if you prefer a much more pungent onion flavor.)
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Place the drained tuna into a small glass or metal bowl and break it apart with a fork. Season it with the mayonnaise (if using) chopped cilantro, lime juice, pepper, and half the salt. Add the onion and stir.
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Cut the cooked potatoes into cubes of about 1 inch / 2.5 cm square and place them in a larger bowl. Sprinkle on the rest of the salt and drizzle the olive oil over all.
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Pour the tuna mix into the larger bowl over the potatoes and gently fold with a rubber spatula.
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Serve at room temperature, or refrigerate for an hour or so before using as a first course.
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To plate this “for company,” place a leaf of lettuce on a salad plate, then spoon on some delicious tuna and potato salad. Top each serving with a couple of slices of boiled egg.
More deliciousness with canned tuna:
Other very tasty dishes with potatoes:
Additional salads featuring animal protein:
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