My mother’s tuna and shells, brought up to date. The bones are the same — shells, canned tuna smashed down to nothing, peas, a sweet creamy dressing — and then it picks up cornichons, capers, seven or eight scallions and a lot of dill. Three to four tablespoons of sugar is not a typo; it is what keeps the whole thing from tasting like plain mayonnaise. Make it a few hours before you want it.
Ingredients
The Salad
- 1 lb box medium shells
- 3 cans tuna, drained — water or oil
- 12 oz bag frozen peas
- 1 large carrot or 2 small, grated
- 7–8 scallions, sliced
- ½ cup fresh dill, chopped
- ¼ cup cornichons, chopped
- 1–2 Tbsp capers
- ½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
The Dressing
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp mustard seed
- 1 Tbsp pickle juice
- 3–4 Tbsp sugar
- A dash or two of hot sauce
Instructions
- Boil the shells. Cook to al dente, drain and let them cool.
- Smash the tuna. Drain it and mash it really well with a fork. You do not want chunks — it should go fine enough to fold all the way through.
- Mix the dressing. Whisk together the sour cream, mayonnaise, olive oil, Dijon, mustard seed, pickle juice, sugar and hot sauce.
- Combine. Add the tuna, frozen peas, grated carrot, scallions, cornichons and capers to the cooled shells.
- Dress it. Fold the dressing all the way through so everything is coated.
- Dill and parsley. Fold in the dill and parsley once everything else is mixed through, right before it goes in the fridge.
- Chill. Refrigerate 2 to 3 hours before serving. It needs the time.
The sugar is doing real work here — it is what keeps it from tasting like plain mayonnaise. Taste it after it has chilled, not before; cold flattens the sweetness.