Uncle Gino's Italian Tuna Salad
*serves 4

For the last 10 days my mother has been talking, non-stop, about Uncle Gino’s tuna salad. Uncle Gino was my grandmother’s twin sister’s husband (say that 10 times fast) who lived with us — in our very over crowded and male dominated Brooklyn home — when I was growing up. With Uncle Gino living in the basement, we capped out at 7 men to 3 women in the house. Though my dad cooked and had his dishes — sauce, pizza, calzones, beans, eggplant — Uncle Gino was an incredible home cook and a chef by trade. He worked in the city and never failed to come home and prepare a meal for us at the end of a work day or on a day off — talk about dedication. He was kind, he was so much fun and he had a way about him that was calm, loving and sure. Without him I probably never would have gotten on a bike and I may not have fallen in love with olives or tomatoes. Our summers together were full of antics that included cooking, eating and running all over the grass that my grandfather forbade us to run on.

Uncle Gino would often prepare Italian tuna (yellowfin, canned in oil to the taste of the tuna is rich and moist — unlike a solid white albacore in water — Italian tuna is smooth, almost silky, and easy to flake) salad, nothing fancy, but my mother’s memory of it was so strong that I could hear the taste of it in her voice when she described it. I remember his cooking, watching him cook, his hugs — but my mother would not let up on this tuna salad. I asked her what he did, which is similar to what I do — but with the addition of boiled potatoes a la a French nicoise salad. She recalled lunches, gathered in the basement, eating at my grandparents dining table — the table cloth stained with red wine and scattered with breadcrumbs that would stick to our hands — eating spoonfuls of colorful, oily (in agood way) tuna salad with honks of fresh bread and cheese.

Since I’m cooking every day in this time of caring for family, having easy meals that come together from pantry staples and fresh ingredients is key. This is how we ate in the summer when I was growing up — lots of fresh tomatoes, olive oil, veggies that had been pickled or grown in our yard. Accessible food and meals. Sure, Uncle Gino was a chef and the whole fishes he roasted in the oven were fantastic, but it’s funny how the more simple moments are always remembered even more fondly in this little life. Maybe today, or sometime soon, you’ll take a moment to transform a can of tuna into a memorable meal.

Uncle Gino's Italian Tuna Salad
*serves 4

Ingredients
2 large cans of Genova (Pastene, Rio or Tonnino) – DO NOT DRAIN
4 small red potatoes, boiled, peeled, cubed, cooled and put aside!
¼ cup of diced red onion
3 cloves of minced garlic
⅓ cup finely chopped parsley
1 tablespoon of caper, plus 1 tablespoon of the brine
10-12 kalamata olives, pitted and cut in half
10-12 castelvetrano olives, pitted and cut in half
1 cup of grape tomatoes, washed and halved
1-2 cups of arugula, cleaned and chopped
1 teaspoon of salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2-3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar

Instructions
Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix well until combined
Adjust salt and pepper as needed
Serve with crusty bread and big chunks of pecorino romano or fresh mozzarella

Have yourself a very Italian summer meal!
Tanti baci!