Monday, August 18, 2014

Invisible Zucchini Tuna Salad


If you garden--or if someone who loves you, likes you, or barely knows you gardens--then you probably have one of these sitting on your counter right about now. Or four of them. The infamous gargantuan zucchini that has grown past its prime.



If it sits long enough, your helpers might find other uses for it. Like dressing it up in doll clothing.

And then later you might finally enlist some helpers to shred that baby up.



Since one 4-pound zucchini can make about 14 cups of shredded zucchini, finding uses for it becomes a challenge. I have found lots of amazing recipes this summer, and it's actually been kind of fun using our shredded harvest.



One weekend I was proud to have used up a whole 8 cups of shredded zucchini, between the zucchini brownies, the zucchini muffins, zucchini pancakes, and then, in a sudden 'aha' moment, in my own new recipe, Invisible Zucchini Tuna Salad.

*(note; if you want to use 8 cups of shredded zucchini in one recipe, please check this pizza out. It's amazing.)

Back to my tuna salad. If you have a favorite tuna recipe already, or like me, usually just start throwing things together without having the time or interest in looking up a recipe for tuna salad, then just add a cup or two of shredded zucchini to your tried-and-true recipe. It will literally disappear into the folds and valleys of the other ingredients. Your family will never know. This recipe makes a really big bowl full of tuna salad, because we love eating leftovers for lunches, and because I have a teenager whose appetite is becoming increasingly difficult to satiate. ;) Cut back on these ingredients if you don't need to make enough to feed a small army.



*Another note: A few months ago I noticed that all my usual brands of tuna at the grocery store suddenly contained soy. I don't know if it had always been this way and I was just noticing, but I was a bit crestfallen. Then I was indignant. And then angry and defiant. I didn't want soy--more than likely surplus GMO soy that needed used up in creative ways--snuck into my food. Tuna used to be an inexpensive protein for us, but now it is a bit of a luxury that we use a bit more occasionally. I was buying this tuna from Amazon, which is very pricey, but fortunately Costco came to my city and I can now buy their brand--soy free--at a decent price.





Invisible Zucchini Tuna Salad

(as explained above, makes a LOT! Scale back if needed!)

2-3 cans tuna
3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1/4 c. plain or Greek yogurt
1/4 c. mayo
1/4 c. finely minced onion
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 c. shredded zucchini
1/4 t. celery seed
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper

Mix it all up, and watch the zucchini become INVISIBLE! Quiz your family during the meal about what is in the tuna salad. My family finally gave in and I had to tell them. :)





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4 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thanks Christina! I was making my usual tuna salad one night for an easy supper, had all this zucchini in the fridge looking out at me, and thought, 'hmmm, why not?' ;)

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  2. great idea! I love tuna but they are wayy too expensive.. I suspect this is also a good way to stretch the tuna with those small cans..

    I cannot wait for the days I will have surplus veggies I don't know what I am going to do with them. It will be a blast :)

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    1. I think zucchini is the one plant that will always give more than you know what to do with. I can't say the same for some of the other things in my garden this summer--for example, my green beans have done terribly, and I was so looking forward to excess green beans to store for the winter. Make sure to always plant at least one zucchini in your future gardens, and then have fun trying to use it all. :) I can't wait to SEE your future gardens, Nihal!

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