Tuna-Macaroni Salad

You pretty much already have everything you need to make this side dish, a great accompaniment to fried or grilled proteins. Some people love raw onion and celery, but you can leave them out or keep them in as you like. Make sure you use tuna packed in water. (Tuna in olive oil will make the salad too oily.) It’s best chilled — don’t serve it at room temperature — its creamy unctuousness balances out the heat (from spice or from cooking) of whatever it’s paired with.

Ingredients

• Kosher salt (Diamond Crystal)
• 1 pound elbow macaroni
• 2 (5-ounce) cans tuna in water, drained
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and smashed with a fork
• 1.5 cups mayonnaise, plus more to taste
• 0.5 cup sweet relish
• 1 tablespoon yellow or Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 0.5 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup chopped celery (from about 3 stalks, optional)
• 1 medium sweet onion, chopped (optional)
• Paprika, for garnish

Steps

1. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil, and cook the macaroni according to package instructions, until slightly pasta al dente. Drain, rinse with cold water until the pasta is cool and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked macaroni, tuna, eggs, mayonnaise, relish, mustard, onion powder, pepper and 1 teaspoon salt. Add chopped celery and onion, if using, and toss gently with a spoon to combine.
3. Taste and adjust salt and mayonnaise as needed. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, and up to overnight. Sprinkle with paprika for garnish before serving cold.