Tuna With Capers, Olives and Lemon

By Melissa Clark

Tuna With Capers, Olives and Lemon
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
10 minutes
Rating
4(1,212)
Comments
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This is not your mother's mayonnaise-laden tuna salad, but it's just as easy to prepare. Here's what you do: stir together some canned tuna, garlic, lemon juice, red onion, black olives, capers and fresh parsley, then spread it on buttered toast. Top it off with a round of ripe tomato or slivers of avocado and another slice of toast. That's it. If you want to make it into a dip, toss the mixture into a food processor with a few tablespoons of softened butter and a bit more olive oil. Purée until smooth and creamy and serve with carrots, fennel, bell pepper and seeded crackers. If you have a tin of sardines taunting you from inside your cabinet, we bet this recipe would work equally well with those.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 sandwiches or 8 appetizer servings
  • 1garlic clove, finely minced
  • Juice of half a lemon, plus more to taste
  • 5tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus 4 more tablespoons if serving as dip
  • 20ounces canned tuna, preferably packed in olive oil, drained
  • ¼cup chopped red onion
  • ¼cup chopped black olives
  • 2tablespoons capers
  • 2tablespoons minced parsley or basil
  • Salt to taste
  • Buttered toast, if serving as sandwiches
  • 10tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, if serving as dip
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

682 calories; 62 grams fat; 23 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 31 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 29 grams protein; 572 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a large bowl, mash garlic with the back of a spoon. Whisk in the lemon juice and 5 tablespoons of olive oil. Combine with the tuna, onion, olives, capers, herbs and salt to taste.

  2. Step 2

    Serve on buttered toast for sandwiches, or make into a dip: Pulse the tuna salad and butter in a food processor until it is creamy. With the motor of the processor running, slowly add the additional 4 tablespoons oil. Taste and add more salt or lemon juice if needed. Serve with cut vegetables (fennel and bell peppers are nice) and crackers.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
1,212 user ratings
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Comments

Barbara

A similar but slightly easier version of this tuna salad includes canned tuna with store bought olive tapenade. I really like Trader Joe's. Then add whatever else you like -- lemon, olive oil, onion, red pepper, tomato, and maybe some sliced hard boiled eggs. Serve it on lettuce or wrapped up in a pita. But just the tuna and tapenade is great by itself too.

Sam

I like to slice some apple, put it on buttered toast and then put the tuna mix on the top. It adds a nice crunch and a sweet and refreshing counter-point to the salty tuna.

Hannah211

Decided to make this tonight as part of a "light" meal - decided to throw kalamata olives in stead of the usual black. Threw this on a bed of spinach and called it a meal. Delicious!

Judy

This looks very similar to my very favorite tuna salad, which additionally calls for preserved lemon (which I learned to make just so I could enjoy the tuna salad). A second difference is serving it on toasted or grilled ciabatta rolls spread with harissa. Yum! I like another reviewer’s suggestion to use olive tapenade.

Fresh take on tuna salad

If you’re Greek you’ll like this! I loved the different take on the mayonnaise version. Plus the capers and olives add that great tang you love.

SewOblio

I’ve been obsessed with Golden Diner’s tuna melt. It is outstanding. After several months of Goldens Tuna salad - not always as a melt, I decided to make the olive caper lemon tuna recipe using Kalamata olives (they were on hand) and otherwise just like the recipe. It was served on mixed lettuce with a small scoop of Jasmine rice and tuna salad on top. Wonderful flavors. This is another great recipe. My family will be glad to have a new option rotated in.

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