I can’t be the only one who finds tuna salad to be highly offensive. It’s right up there with egg salad. BLEH.
Think about it. It smells weird. It looks weird. The main ingredient is mayonnaise. Sometimes there are bones in there. Shudder.
Nobody likes the cubicle mate that brings a damn tuna salad into the office. On the list of Worst Foods to Eat in an Office, tuna salad is second only to a microwaved sack of cat turds. What a jerk you are for doing that.
One time I sat down on a cross-country flight to LA… in the last row… that doesn’t recline… always… and the toilets were smelling like, you know, toilets. I thought this was the worst it could get until an overly affectionate couple sat down next to me with matching tuna salad sandwiches and (AND) MF cool ranch Doritos. Who does that? Then they had the audacity to sit there and complain about the toilet smell.
I was all: Whatever, tunafaces. If there’s anything worse than a person with a tuna salad sandwich it’s two people with tuna salad sandwiches making out with each other. The horror.
So the moral of this story is I hate tuna salad and so I made this tofu salad.
I have an aversion to creamy white foods–yogurt, milk, ranch, etc.–so mayonnaise (and vegannaise) are a no go. Instead, I used mashed avocado as the binder. Baked tofu replaces the tuna, and walnuts and celery add a little crunch.
Most other people on the planet have an aversion to tofu so let me help you. I find the best tofu texture comes from thinly slicing, seasoning, and then baking it for a long time.
I guess I don’t really know what chicken tastes like anymore, but to my completely delusional vegetarian taste buds it tastes like chicken when prepared like this. (I’m told this is false.)
- 1 block of extra firm organic tofu
- olive oil spray
- poultry seasoning
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 ripe avocados
- juice of 1 lemon
- ⅓ cup chopped walnuts
- 1 stalk of celery, thinly sliced
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Slice the tofu block into pieces about ¼-inch thick
- Arrange tofu slices on a paper towel and press out the excess water
- Spray a baking sheet and arrange tofu
- Spritz the tofu with olive oil and season with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning
- Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes on each side (30 minutes total)
- Meanwhile, mash avocados and lemon juice in a large bowl
- Stir in walnuts and celery, and season with more salt and pepper to taste
- When tofu is done baking, dice it into cubes and add it to the avocado mixture
The avocado-walnut combination is one of my favorite food pairings. It makes me feel all healthy-fat and happy. This is a high-protein, healthy-fat, creamy, crunchy, satisfying sandwich filling or salad topper that will not offend your office mates or the lone traveler flying to LA for all the wrong reasons.
You’re welcome.
PS – Thanks for the outpouring of support following my triumphant return to life online. I’m gonna need a Facebook intervention very soon.
Can’t wait to go to the store and try this out! YUM!
this post is one of the many reasons why i’m so very happy you’re back in my google reader. it made me laugh on this terrible, horrible, no good, very bad & extremely cold ohio morning. yay!
So happy you’re back! AND I just moved to Charlotte so I actually get to use your restaurant/yoga studio recommendations!
This looks amazing!! I definitely need to try it. I really love the curry fake-chicken salad you can get at whole foods/earth fair (that I’m sure is not very healthy..but so delicious) .. it’d be fun to try and make something similar based on this recipe. Thanks!
ooh! let’s get coffee some time. sweettaterblog@gmail.com or tweet me and we’ll get something together.
This looks so good, must try! And the only tuna I will eat is the fresh sushi grade! I worked with a girl who would eat tuna sandwiches then rinse her mouth out with dish soap. Double gag! I was like, how about just don’t eat it?
this is horrifying.
Avocado!!! Yum! I just started following you and love your healthy, vegan, easy to make recipes! I can’t wait to try this one.
First, I’m so glad you’re back! And second, I had a physical reaction to your description of that couple with their tuna salad sandwiches and doritos PDA-ing on the plane. Sounds like hell.
Your tofu salad, on the other hand, sounds awesome! I’m one of those people who loves raw tofu, so I bet I’d also enjoy it that way too.
This looks really delicious….and avocados are on sale at HT this week. I will have to try it!
i am so very happy you are back! and this recipe looks bomb.
those tunafaces make me all queasy thinkin about it. for a long time i posted a NO FISH IN THE MICROWAVE sign at work but someone trashed it (probably the office fish eaters) It is Just. Not. Right! eat your canned fish at home people. gaggggg
I found I have a soy/egg/wheat/tomato/peanut allergy so no more tofu for me. my doc said maybe in it’s original edamame form after a year of soy free. which is dang hard. that soy lecithin sh*t is in EVERYTHING! I’m down with the mashed avocado and walnuts on some gluten free toast though. (yeah its almost impossible to find GF, egg free bread too.)
that was supposed to be 4 stars. one missing cause I cant eat soy. so there.
plus it’s not all that great for hormonal balance. so eat it sparingly girls. (and men too and kids never)
ooooh, yeah. soy is everywhere.
Totally agree that tuna salad is the worst. My sister eats tuna salad with mustard and pickles. It’s an abomination.
Thank you for that airplane story. And for making me literally LOL in the middle of my grad class. Whoops.
Tuna salad can suck it but this stuff looks amazing and I don’t even know if I like tofu.
PS any tempeh recipes coming up? Because I just bought a bunch but I’m not sure what to do with it.
i got you, girl.
spicy glazed tempeh: http://www.sweettaterblog.com/2012/01/02/spicy-maple-glazed-tempeh/
summer tempeh salad: http://www.sweettaterblog.com/2012/08/02/summer-tempeh-salad/
spicy peanut tempeh wraps: http://www.sweettaterblog.com/2012/04/30/spicy-peanut-tempeh-wraps/
BBQ tempeh sandwich: http://www.sweettaterblog.com/2011/09/12/bbq-tempeh-sandwich/
curry tempeh stuffed peppers: http://www.sweettaterblog.com/2011/07/12/curry-tempeh-stuffed-peppers/
easy tempeh skillet: http://www.sweettaterblog.com/2012/07/09/easy-tempeh-skillet/
Someday I’m going to start a Tumblr blog devoted solely to how much I hate mayonnaise.
HAHAHA
that’s awesome louise. to me mayo is just like a freaky version of WD40. like maybe I would use in in a hardware application. otherwise it’s just greasy slimy birdcrap.
Can I make this with tempeh instead do you think??? I want to try it…but I don’t have any tofu on hand…
I just made this for lunches this week and am completely blown away – SO YUMMY! Do you know how long it will keep in the fridge before the avocado turns brown? A few days? I guess the lemon should help with that but probably not for too long.