Mason-Dixon Recipes

Tuna on Peaches

I don't know what it is about food your mother makes for you, especially when it's something that anyone can make—pancakes, meat loaf, tuna salad—but it carries a certain taste of memory.

         — Mitch Albom

This Belgian dish, called Péches au Thon, was introduced to me by a friend while working on an international program at the University I attended. It's based on a well-established salad (tuna) that includes one of my favorite fruits (peaches). And that's as simple as it gets.

Tuna salad itself has been around for more than a hundred years. The first written reference in America appeared in 1907 and by 1914 dozens of recipes had been published. Tuna salad is similar to chicken salad, but is much cheaper. This fact, no doubt, helped its early rise in popularity, aided in no small part to its status as a diet food due to its high vitamin content. Throw in the fruit and it makes a great lunch alternative to a tuna salad sandwich.

This recipe cuts down on the amount of mayonnaise by using an oil and vinegar mixture that gives it more of a salad taste.

INGREDIENTS

20 oz tuna fish in water (4 5-oz cans)
1 8-oz can of peach halves in lite syrup
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp vinegar
2 tsp lemon juice
4 tbsp mayonnaise
— paprika

DIRECTIONS

Drain water from tuna and crumble it into a finer consistency. Add oil, vinegar, lemon juice and mayonnaise. Mix well.

Drain the peaches and set out halfs on a plate. Place a scoop of tuna salad into into each peach half. Lightly dust with paprika and serve.

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