Tuna Macaroni Salad with Red Grapes, Red Onion, and Celery
When you need a large salad to feed a crowd this would be a good option. It uses the pasta you'd find in macaroni and cheese, little elbows. You will need a large salad bowl with tightly fitting lid, like a glass Pyrex storage plus bowl for this recipe.
---Barbara
Tuna Macaroni Salad with Red Grapes, Red Onion and Celery
Serves 12
1 box (1 lb.) small elbow pasta
1 red onion, large, chopped
3-4 stalks celery, chopped
1 large bunch of red grapes, halved
2 - 3 cans Italian (or other high quality) tuna in olive oil
2 lemons
1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil, if needed
salt and pepper
red pepper flakes
pinch of dried mustard
4 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
1 large bunch of cilantro, rinsed, dried and chopped
1 small jar Hellman's Light mayonnaise, or 1.5- 2 cups
Make the hard-boiled eggs, cool completely.
In the bottom of a large 4 quart salad bowl, add the oil from the cans of tuna without adding the tuna. Zest the lemons, and add to the oil. Then, juice the lemons and add to the bowl. Could be right on the money now, but if needed add some more olive oil (up to 1/3 cup) to balance out the dressing. Hold back on the salt, but taste, and add if needed, plus black pepper, red pepper flakes and a pinch of dry mustard. Combine well with a whisk.
Cook the pasta in salted water per directions on box, 6 to 8 minutes, drain well and add to bowl on top of the dressing. Add a generous amount of salt to the pasta --- about 1.5 - 2 teaspoons --plus ground pepper, and coat well with the dressing while the pasta is still hot.
Chop the onion into bite-size pieces, then layer it on top of the pasta. Do not mix. Add a pinch of salt to the onions.
Chop the celery, add a layer, and a pinch of salt.
Halve the grapes, add a layer, and a generous grind of black pepper all over the grapes.
Put the tuna in the center.
Add the slices eggs around the outside in a circle.
Place the cilantro on top.
Refrigerate until completely cold and it's time to serve.
Toss well.
Add good quality light mayonnaise (Hellman's Light is the best) until you have the consistency you like, about 1.5 to 2 cups.
B