Recipe: May: Tuna and Tarragon Pasta Salad

It’s time for another recipe! First, the recipe ripped from a Sweet Tomato’s copycat site for their Tuna and Tarragon Salad. Then, me blathering onward about my occasionally questionable culinary capabilities and the memories this particular feast holds for me.

• The Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 5 cups small shell pasta
  • 1 and 1/4 cups penne pasta
  • 1 cup spinach fettuccine (3 inch pieces)
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 2 (6 oz.) cans tuna in water
  • 2 cups sweet pickle juice (small jar contains about 1 cup)
  • 1 3/4 cups mayonnaise
  • 1 1/2 cups sweet pickles, diced
  • 1 cup celery, diced
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons dried tarragon leaves
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon white pepper

• The Way of Preparing
  1. For the pasta:
     • In a large pot, bring three quarts of water and a heaping tablespoon salt to a full boil.
     • Add all of the pastas and cook for about ten minutes or until the pasta is al dente.
     • Immediately strain the pasta and cool it with water from the tap while it is in the strainer.
     • Drain pasta completely and place in your serving bowl.
     • Coat pasta with canola oil to prevent sticking.
  2. For the dressing:
     • Place lightly drained tuna in a large bowl and break down into small pieces.
     • Add the sweet pickle juice, mayonnaise, diced sweet pickles, celery, sour cream, tarragon, salt, and pepper. Thoroughly whisk to combine. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Mix the dressing and cooked pasta together; allow it to marinate for at least eight hours or overnight. If too thick, top with more of the sweet pickle juice.
     
• Notes
  • I haven’t actually made this yet, but I plan to.
  • I’d add black olives and diced green peppers, since that’s what I add when we go to Sweet Tomatoes.

I’ve got plans to make it for Beltane. Beyond that, it is one of Stephanie’s favorites when we go to Sweet Tomatoes.