My Whole Deal

Deicious and fresh, Vegan Tuna Salad

Vegan MoFo IV, Day #10, Week #2, Vegan Snacks

Who misses “fill-in-the-blank” salad sandwiches? I do! Especially..the T Word. Okay, I’ll say it. TUNA. I liked it. A lot. Seriously, tuna was probably the only meat it wasn’t a huge, uncomfortable chore for me to eat as a child. Mix it with some Miracle Whip and pop it on a delicious Triscuit cracker–what better after school snack can you possibly imagine?

I was inspired to try to satisfy my tuna hole (oh, good gracious that sounds so much worse now that I’ve actually typed it!) by Susan Voisin’s recipe for Sea-Sational Chickpea Salad. I really like sea vegetables, but agree with Susan’s advice–that if you are just starting out, less may be more.

Kombu, nori and kelp powder are all readily available (and affordable!) at Asian markets and health food stores. Kombu is especially potent, so a 2 inch by 1 inch piece to start is a safe bet. Sea vegetables offer a wealth of nutrients, such as iron, iodine, vitamin C and a bunch more I can’t pronounce. Give them a try…it’s a big beautiful world out there, eat it all!

Kombu

Nori Sheets

Kelp Powder

We were never a mayonnaise house-Miracle Whip, all the way! Miracle Whip, as I remember it, is sweet and tangy and flavourful (and does not apologise, apparently. Arrogant, really). Seasoned rice wine vinegar with smooth, slightly salty, pureed chickpeas replicate this nicely, without all the unfounded cock-suredy.

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 cup chickpeas*, dried
- (null) water *
- 2 sheets nori, torn into strips
- 1 piece kombu
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 cup fresh dill (or 1 1/2 tsp dried)
- 2 tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 tbs white miso paste**
- 1/2-1 tsp kelp powder
- 2 tbs seasoned rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup green onions or chives, chopped
- 1-2 stalks celery, chopped fine
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper, optional
- Black pepper, to taste

METHOD:

1. Place chickpeas in a dish, cover with water and sprinkle with sea salt. Cover, refrigerate and let soak overnight.

2. Once your chickpeas are good and soaked, drain off the soiled water. Pour chickpeas into your cooking vessel of choice, add fresh water, nori, kombu and salt. Cook until tender.*

Beautiful, fresh chickpeas and with sea vegetables

3. Once chickpeas are cool, it’s mashin’ time. This can be done in the food processor or by hand with a potato masher. If you are using the food processor, process about 1 cup of the chickpeas with the lemon juice, miso** and vinegar until nice and smooth then add in the rest of the chickpeas and pulse a few times so some chunky bits remain. If you’re hand mashing, just keep squishing until it’s a chunky/smooth consistency reminiscent of traditional “fill-in-the-blank” salad type sandwich fillings. Looking too dry? For either method, taste, add more lemon juice if it’s not too lemony or else add a splash of water and keep mashing/whirring. Stir in remaining ingredients, taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.

Crusty Whole Wheat Sourdough and Chickpeas of the Sea

Serve with crusty bread, wholegrain crackers or fresh veggie sticks.

NOTES:

* If you are using the stove top method, bring water to a gentle boil, reduce heat to a gentle simmer and let cook for 50-60 minutes, checking often to make sure pot does not run dry, until chickpeas are nice and tender. For the pressure cooker, cover chickpeas with water (about a cup and a half), add other ingredients, bring to high pressure and cook for 15-18 minutes, until wonderful and tender (can you tell I favour the pressure cooker much? Imagine how my children must feel!)

**miso works well in the recipe because it adds saltiness, sweetness and a bit of moisture. Don’t want to zip out just to get miso…but you’ll already be at the store acquiring various seaweed products–what gives? Ok, ok, ok. A few pinches of sea salt and a couple tbs of water will work too. Don’t have seasoned rice wine vinegar either? Come on! Ok, about a tsp of dry sweetener and 2 tbs water or 2 tbs mirin will work too.

***Why not fancy it up even more? Add shredded carrot, chopped dill pickles, cucumber, perhaps a splash of Dijon mustard? Make it happen! Hey! if you’re going the pickle route (hee! hee! oh, man! Tuna hole and pickle route! Being a 14 year old boy trapped in a…er…22 year old girl’s body is hilarious!) why not substitute pickle juice for lemon juice? Do it!

Makes 6-8 Servings