Warm Potato and Tuna Salad over Arugula

Perfect Pairing: Grocery store salad bar

This salad is deceptively delicious.  When I first sent the recipe to my mom she was dubious.  After I made it she declared that it was one of her favorite meals.  The warm potatoes soak up the tartness of the vinegar and pair nicely with the rich taste of the tuna and olives.  Everything is served over a bed of peppery arugula.  The picture above shows a double recipe that I made for a crowd.

I usually do not purchase the tuna packed in olive oil but I definitely think it is the way to go with this recipe rather than tuna packed in water.  The amounts listed in the recipe are more suggestions and can be modified to suit your tastes.  Be sure to taste the salad at the end and add more salt, pepper, olive oil and vinegar as needed. 

The Perfect Pairing for this recipe is the salad bar at your grocery store.  The recipe calls for a small amount of celery and carrots.  If you are like me, you will end up with the extra in your crisper drawer for way too long.  Utilize your store’s salad bar and buy just want you need.  It is already clean and ready to go.  While it may seem like a silly extra step to cook the potatoes with the vegetables, it adds a lot of flavor. 

Warm Potato and Tuna Salad over Arugula

Adapted by Lindsay at Perfecting the Pairing from Serious Eats

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

·         1 onion, cut into large chunks

·         2 ribs of celery, cut into large chunks

·         2 carrots, unpeeled, cut into large chunks

·         1 bay leaf

·         ½ tsp whole black peppercorns

·         1 lb fingerling potatoes, cleaned

·         1/3 cup olive oil

·         4 Tb red wine vinegar

·         2, 4.5 oz cans of tuna packed in olive oil, drained

·         3 Tb chopped capers

·         ½ red onion, sliced thinly

·         ½ cup green olives, roughly chopped

·         ¼ cup parsley, chopped

·         10 oz fresh arugula

Directions:

Add the onion, celery, carrot, bay leaf, and peppercorns to a large pot of salted water.  Bring to a boil.  Once boiling, add the potatoes and cook until tender.  While the potatoes are cooking, combine the tuna, capers, onion, olives and parsley in a large bowl. 

Remove the potatoes from the water, drain and slice.  Discard the flavor ingredients (onion, celery, carrot, bay leaf, peppercorns).    While the potatoes are warm, toss with olive oil and vinegar.

Gently combine the tuna mixture with the potatoes.  Season to taste with salt, pepper, and more olive oil and vinegar, as needed.  Serve over a bed of arugula.

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