Guaca-Tuna! Guaca-Tuna! Yeah!

 

Here's an easy yet innovative recipe for picky eaters.  This tuna sandwich doesn't smell fishy, or taste strongly of fish.  It doesn't even really taste of guacamole very much.  Somehow all the strong flavors cancel each other out and a neutral crowd pleasing tuna salad is born! I'm squeamish about "fishy" smell when it comes to eating healthy tuna or other fish.  Mayo with tuna is okay, but it tends to magnify the fishy flavor and smell for me, and I usually have to load it down with onion, which just makes it even more smelly.  So I searched around for a better way.  

 

It's fun saying Guaca-Tuna!

 

There's a small following of people who like to make tuna salad with guacamole, and another group who like to use cottage cheese.  After some experiments I found a recipe I like best, and it's so easy! It can be used in exactly the same way you use any tuna salad, in a sandwich, on celery sticks, or topping a green salad. You can even make a tuna melt with it, it won't "break" and get all oily when heated. It's a little bit spicy though, so for kids, you may want to make this with the Mild Green Chile Guacamole instead of the Spicy (more on that below). 

This recipe uses no more than three ingredients.  Well, OK, technically guacamole has ingredients of its own.  But as far as prep goes you only need the tuna, the cottage cheese and the guac.  There are two magic ingredients that cut down on the smell of this tuna sandwich filling / tuna salad.  First, the cilantro in the guacamole (fell free to add more fresh cilantro if you wish).  Second, the casein in cottage cheese tends to neutralize fishy odors.  Also, the Wild Planet brand of Albacore tuna tends not to be too stinky in the first place. 

Gluten free choices:

• Three Bakers GF Rye Style bread is a classic, it has seeds, tastes neutral, and in the years I've been buying it, has NEVER had large holes in it.  Literally not once have I opened it and found a big air hole through the loaf.  It can be a bit crumbly though, so toast it before use. For a sturdier bread, use my whole grain recipe for bread machines.
  
• Hope Guacamole is delicious and very pricey.  I think it's worth the price, but sometimes when you buy Hope products in stores it can be hit or miss in quality.  Consider using Amazon Fresh (Amazon has two food delivery services, Fresh is the one that delivers from the warehouse, not from the store). For this delicate product with a shorter shelf life than most, it makes a difference. It's hard to tell from their website but all Hope products I've ever seen are Certified GF by GIG.
  
• Tuna is naturally gluten free.
• Most dairy products will not carry a GF label because of the inoculants and enzymes used to make them. If you are sensitive to dairy, leave this out, it's perfectly fine without it.  You can also make your own cottage cheese with just rice vinegar and milk, or experiment with a soy or almond version.  The bright bumps of cottage cheese do look cheerful in there, and they add some more protein to it. 

 

Guaca-Tuna Recipe

Makes 2 fat sandwiches or 3 flat ones.

1 can of Tuna in water (drained)

4 Tbsp  Guacamole

2 Tbsp Cottage Cheese (optional)

Pinch of Salt

Combine, and allow to stand in the refrigerator for 30 min.  Use as a sandwich filling with rye or homemade bread, and any toppings you like, such as lettuce and tomato.  Or cilantro and onion.  Or shredded carrot and chopped olives.

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