Julia Child’s Tuna Salad Sandwich

Our City has locked down. Again. My children are at home virtually “learning”. Again. It is as though 2020 decided to provide us with another little “screw you” just in time for Christmas. I am not impressed.

The upside about working from home in the middle of a lockdown is that you can take the time to make lunches that would be difficult in a staff kitchen. I have always had great love for a tuna salad sandwich. When I saw Dorie Greenspan’s recent article in the New York Times, showcasing the working lunch she used to share with Julia Child, I was excited. As usual, Julia elevated the simple deli street staple and created perfection. This is my new quarantine lunch standard.

Make sure to chop the celery, onion and cornichons to small, even sized pieces. It is often hard to find tuna packed in oil, but the taste is better. Avoid any tuna labelled “light”. It is not healthier, but rather is sourced from a variety of smaller tuna fish and tends to have a stronger, and in my opinion, less-desirable flavour.

Julia Child’s Tuna Salad Sandwich

Adapted by Dorie Greenspan, New York Times Cooking
Makes 2 sandwiches

1 5-ounce can of tuna, packed in oil
3-4 Tbsp mayonnaise
3 Tbsp finely chopped celery
2-3 Tbsp finely chopped sweet onion
3-4 cornichons, finely chopped
1 Tbsp capers, patted dry and chopped
Fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper, to taste
1-2 Tbsp minced fresh chives or parsley
2 English muffin, split
4 soft lettuce leaves, such as Boston
4 tomato slices
Thinly sliced onion, for garnish

Using a fork, mash the tuna with 3 tablespoons mayonnaise. Add the celery, onion, cornichons and capers and toss to combine. Add a squirt of lemon juice, some salt (go easy at first) and pepper. Add additional mayo, lemon, salt and pepper to taste.

Toast the muffins and spread them with a little mayo. Lay a leaf of soft lettuce on each half. Spread the tuna mixture onto the muffins and top each with sliced tomato and very thinly sliced onion.