Pasta Salad with Tuna and Celery Recipe
Pasta salad with tuna, celery and a creamy mayo-yogurt dressing is a classic of American picnics and lunchboxes. In the US it’s often made a day ahead and pulled straight from the fridge as a quick meal on a hot day. The flavor is reminiscent of a mix between a vegetable salad and tuna salad, but with pasta instead of potatoes.
This pasta salad with tuna and celery is reminiscent of American potlucks and picnics, where everyone brings a bowl of salad and this one disappears among the first. The creamy mayo-yogurt dressing coats the pasta, while crunchy celery, pickled cucumber and onion give it a character somewhere between a vegetable salad and a sandwich-style tuna salad.
Chef's tips
Cook the pasta al dente and be sure to rinse it with cold water, otherwise it will soak up all the dressing in the fridge and the salad will become dense. If you’re making it a day ahead, add a spoonful of yogurt or a bit of mayonnaise right after taking it out of the fridge and gently mix to refresh the texture. Taste the dressing before adding the pasta – it’s easier to season it at this stage than to chase the flavor in a big bowl later.
How to serve
Serve the salad well chilled, as a main dish on a hot day or as a side to grilled meats and vegetables in the garden. It’s perfect in a lunchbox for work or school – it doesn’t need reheating and travels well in a bag. To drink, serve lemon water, iced tea or a light white wine if you’re having it at a weekend lunch on the terrace.
Ingredients
- pasta short, e.g. fusilli or elbows - 250 g
- tuna in its own juice weight after draining, from a can - 160 g
- celery stalks finely chopped - 2 stalks
- red onion finely chopped - 0.5 piece
- pickled cucumber cut into small cubes - 2 piece
- mayonnaise - 3 tablespoons
- plain yogurt thick - 3 tablespoons
- mustard - 1 teaspoon
- lemon juice - 1 tablespoon
- dill chopped, fresh or frozen - 2 tablespoons
- salt or to taste - 0.5 teaspoons
- black pepper - 0.25 teaspoons
Preparation
- Cook the pasta in salted water according to the package instructions, but shorten the cooking time by 1 minute so it stays slightly firm. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking, then drain very well.
- Drain the tuna and break it up into smaller pieces with a fork.
- Wash the celery, trim the ends and chop finely. Dice the onion and pickled cucumbers into small cubes.
- In a large bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, yogurt, mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper until you have a smooth dressing.
- Add the pasta, tuna, celery, onion, pickles and dill to the dressing. Gently but thoroughly mix so the dressing coats all the ingredients evenly.
- Taste the salad and, if needed, season with additional salt, pepper or lemon juice.
- Refrigerate the salad for at least 30 minutes to let the flavors meld. Serve chilled.
Storage
Sałatkę przechowuj w lodówce w szczelnym pojemniku. Następnego dnia może być jeszcze smaczniejsza, ale makaron lekko wchłonie sos, więc przed podaniem możesz dodać łyżkę jogurtu lub majonezu.
