This salad started as a make-do moment but wound up a favorite I’ve made again and again. On my way home from the gym one afternoon, my appetite tipping dangerously into the hangry zone, I did a mental inventory of what I had at home for lunch and landed on one of my simplest go-tos: oil-packed tuna tossed with lettuce, a squeeze of lemon juice and a handful of olives.
But when I got home I realized I had no lettuce — there was nothing in my crisper drawer but a slightly wilted bunch of celery and some parsley. I was so hungry (and annoyed) I nearly started eating the tuna out of the jar, when I spotted the containers of marinated artichokes and roasted red peppers in the door of my refrigerator. Bingo! I had a better idea.
Get the recipe: Tuna Antipasto Salad
I rough-chopped the vegetables, which wound up being a lovely combination of soft, sweet peppers, vinegary artichokes, briny olives, grassy parsley leaves and still-crunchy-enough celery. I added about half of the jar of tuna, flaking it with a fork, along with some of the oil it was packed in. Then I tossed everything with lemon zest and juice and a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper.
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I enjoyed the salad so much I have made it multiple times since, using whatever jars of antipasti I have around, such as marinated mushrooms, pepperoncini or whatever is lingering my refrigerator, fennel and/or onion instead of the celery, and dill instead of parsley, for example. The experience has left me even more confident with the idea of “no lettuce, no problem” when I need to whip us a quick salad, especially since it’s so easy to keep jars of antipasti on hand.
Get the recipe: Tuna Antipasto Salad
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