This is not your typical tuna salad.  The difference that sets this tuna apart (in our opinion) is the addition of lime and horseradish.  And there are no pickles in this dish, which is one of the main ingredients we think of when we think tuna salad.  Not that we think about or make tuna salad all that often, but when we do, we like to use this recipe from Cook’s Illustrated’s American Classics cookbook.  The ingredients are simple:  solid white tuna (packed in water), lime juice and lime zest, prepared horseradish, red onion, fresh parsley, salt and pepper, mayonnaise and Dijon mustard.  Simple but tasty.

Start by draining the tuna in a colander and breaking up the big pieces until the texture is fine and even.

Place the drained tuna in a mixing bowl big enough for all the ingredients.

Add the minced celery, red onion and parsley.

Then add the lime zest…

…and lime juice.

Next, add the prepared horseradish.  You can usually find this type of horseradish in the refrigerator section of the grocery store, often near the cheese selections.

Add salt.

Add ground black pepper.

Mix all the ingredients together.

Then add the mayonnaise…

…and the Dijon mustard.  Stir everything together and taste.  You may need to adjust the seasonings at this point — adding a little more salt, mayo or other ingredients.  When we made this batch, we added a little more horseradish because we like the sharp and tangy flavor it adds to the tuna.

There are lots of ways you could serve this tuna salad — with pita chips for dipping, on a sandwich, or as a “tuna melt” like my mom used to make (on an English muffin with tomato and cheese, toasted in the oven.)

I had the tuna salad in an avocado for lunch one day, and it was delicious.  The lime flavor in the salad complemented the fresh avocado nicely.

The tuna salad should stay fresh in the fridge for about 3 days and is a welcome change from the usual ham or turkey sandwich for lunch.