Ranch Tuna Salad

 

Ok, so this is kind of a cop-out because it's just tuna salad with bottled ranch instead of mayo, but I felt it was important to share.

I did actually break down and buy a jar of lite mayo after Passover.  Opened it for the dressing to go on the reuben fries.  Mayo in general is more expensive than I realized, since I hardly ever buy it.  I'll think twice before casually tossing the dregs and instead come up with a use for them.

I used the last bit of my celery plant before pulling it.  I did not know that it was going to grow so tall when it bolted, well over 5 feet.  I have plenty of celery seed and didn't wait for it to complete the process.  What I did not realize was that the variety I planted would produce a celeriac root.  My afternoon plans quickly changed to peeling and blanching it for the freezer, which was not easy.  I couldn't cut through the two largest pieces, so I didn't get very much.

But the happy part of this lunch was that I had everything on hand for it.  My pantry and garden are stocked at the right level that I can skip expensive ingredients until they are on sale, then buy a couple extra to take advantage of the price.  I'm actually spending less each week than I was before inflation got so bad, because I saw it coming in February.  It almost makes up for the price of gas.

1 5 oz can tuna
*1 stalk green onion
*2 ribs celery
*1/4 C cilantro or parsley
*White pepper to taste
*1/4 tsp dill weed, or to taste
*1 Tb ranch dressing, or to taste
salt to taste

1.  Drain tuna.  I like to rinse it as well, to get rid of some of the salt.  Allow it to sit in the strainer while you prepare the veggies.

2.  Finely chop green onion.  Dice celery.  Chop cilantro.  Place in a small bowl with the white pepper and dill, if using.  Stir in tuna, then dressing.  Add more ranch until desired consistency is reached.

3.  Taste and adjust seasonings.  Serve either as a salad or on bread.

Makes 2 servings

Difficulty rating  π