Eat Together, Make Life Delicious...

For this recipe, use Sicilian canned tuna packed in olive oil. Water-packed is ok but will not be as moist and flavorful. I love to prepare this recipe with a variety of herbs and sometimes use orange or lime zest instead of lemon. If you would like to make a tuna melt, heat the oven to 400 F and assemble the tuna salad sandwiches (open faced) on a cookie sheet and smother them generously with shredded cheese. Place the sandwiches in the oven to melt the cheese for 5-7 minutes. Remove the sandwiches, plate them, and serve immediately with a knife and a fork.

Tuna Salad Croissants
Makes 4 Servings

1 cup mayonnaise (low fat mayo also works great)
1 tablespoon fresh basil, finely chopped
¼ cup celery, chopped in 1/8-inch cubes
1 medium just ripe tomato, chopped in 1/8 inch cubes, drained
1 tablespoon white onion, finely chopped
½ teaspoon table salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ tablespoon lemon zest
Two 6-ounce cans albacore tuna, packed in oil, preferably from Sicily, drained
4 large croissants, sliced in half lengthwise to make a sandwich
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded, optional

In a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, basil, celery, tomato cubes, onions, salt, pepper, and lemon zest and whisk together until well combine. Gently fold in the tuna and stir until it is well coated. To assemble the sandwich, place the four open croissants on plates and evenly divide up the tuna salad mixture among them. Depending on how much tuna salad you would like in comparison to the croissant size, you may serve this sandwich open-faced or closed. Serve immediately with a knife and fork.