Farmgirl's Swiss Chard Tuna Salad ♥

So it's kind of amazing to me that you can add so much Swiss chard, a soft and delicate leafy green, to what's otherwise a pretty traditional tuna salad recipe – and yet it's still completely tuna salad not some weird variation. Low Carb. High Protein. Naturally Gluten Free. Whole30 Friendly with homemade mayonnaise.

It's hard – for us, anyway and let me not just say "hard" but "really hard" – to eat enough greens. So I'm ever on the look-out for ways to incorporate greens into stuff that we're already eating. This easy tuna salad – it could be your favorite tuna salad recipe, even a tuna salad from the deli – was easily transformed. And I was quite surprised that even with the addition of three large Swiss chard leaves, this was still tuna salad, just a little greener – and very good, definitely worth a try.

COMPLIMENTS!
"Excellent savory tuna salad ...what a treat!." ~ belleplaine

SWISS CHARD TUNA SALAD

Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Time to table: 15 minutes (Farmgirl recommends letting it sit a bit for flavors to meld)
Makes about 3 cups

TUNA SALAD
About 3 large Swiss chard leaves, to yield about 1 cup chopped & tightly packed leaves
About 1 rib from a Swiss chard leaf, chopped very fine

8 ounces (225g) packaged tuna or 2 five-ounce cans of tuna, drained
1/4 cup (15g) chopped fresh cilantro (Farmgirl uses Italian parsley)
1/2 cup (15g) chopped green onion, both the white & green parts, from about 3 small green onions, chopped very fine
1/4 cup (35g) chopped kalamata olives
Salt & pepper to taste

DRESSING
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Salt & pepper to taste

TO SERVE
Salad greens, lettuce or arugula, say

PREP Wash the chard leaves and cilantro well, shake to dry – or run through a salad spinner or dry on paper towels.

DRESSING I usually mix the Dressing at this point, giving the greens a few minutes to dry. Just whisk the ingredients together in a large bowl.

TUNA SALAD Cut the ribs and "little ribs" (is that what they're called, the ones that extend into the leaves themselves?) from the chard leaves. Chop one rib very small for the Tuna Salad, save the remaining ribs for another purpose or discard. Cut the chard leaves into narrow strips.

Add the tuna to the bowl, without mixing it into the Dressing; use a large fork to break apart the tuna without mashing it to mush. Add the chard, chard stems, green onion, olives, salt and pepper and gently stir the ingredients together. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

To serve, arrange salad greens in a bowl, top with Swiss Chard Tuna Salad.

MAKE AHEAD Farmgirl recommends making Swiss Chard Tuna Salad several hours ahead of time, allowing time for the flavors to meld. So far, I've only made it and served it on the spot, it makes such a quick 'n' easy lunch!

ALANNA'S TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES
I find the chard ribs a little more fibrous than palatable in Tuna Salad, that's why I use just one rib, one's good!
To easily chop the chard leaves, stack them one atop the other, then roll into "cigars" and cut cross-wise.
I make Farmgirl's simple Dressing some times but also often to a homemade dressing that's already on hand, that's usually some variation of Buttermilk Garlic Salad Dressing.

NUTRITION INFORMATION (assumes tuna packed in water & full-fat mayonnaise) Per Half Cup: 185 Calories; 16g Tot Fat; 2g Sat Fat; 17mg Cholesterol; 342mg Sodium; 1g Carb; 0g Fiber; 0g Sugar; 10g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS WW Old Points 5, WW PointsPlus 5, WW SmartPoints 5, WW Freestyle

NUTRITION NOTES If you've ever wondered how many Weight Watchers points there are in tuna salad, look out! Even bulked up with greens, a half cup (just a half cup – this recipe makes SIX half cups) made with full-fat mayonnaise really adds up. Even using low-fat mayonnaise, the point count is surprisingly high. That said? The low-carb people are happy since there are just 2 net carbs, joining a growing collection of low-carb vegetable recipes, too.

HOW TO LIGHTEN UP TUNA SALAD (1) Switch from full-fat mayonnaise to low-fat mayonnaise: the only downside is that low-fat mayonnaise nearly always includes added sugar, something I work hard to avoid. (2) Substitute non-fat Greek yogurt for half the mayonnaise. You might want to increase the mustard a little too. (3) Substitute capers for olives.

TODAY'S VEGETABLE RECIPE INSPIRATION Many thanks for the inspiration to my pal from Farmgirl Fare, whose recipe was featured last spring on NPR's Kitchen Window, Letting Greens into Your Life.

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SEASONAL EATING: THIS SAME WEEK ACROSS THE YEARS

Roasted Eggplant & Tomato Pizza Quick Tomato Sauce Tomato & Rice Salad Zucchini Pumpkin Bread (< lovely for early fall!) Swiss Chard Gratin Broccoli Parmesan Casserole Four Seasons of My Favorite Herb Green Beans with Mayo-Soy Sauce (< totally easy, so good!) Farmgirl's Swiss Chard Tuna Salad Grilled Cheese BLT Homemade Onion Dip Julia Child's Lentil Salad Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Lemon Vinaigrette (< this week's dramatic favorite!) Raw Butternut Squash Salad Slow Cooker Butternut Squash with Ginger & Dried Fruit Easy Steamed Bok Choy Salad Roasted Salmon with Garden Hash & Creamy Avocado Sauce

Eat more vegetables! A Veggie Venture is home of "veggie evangelist" Alanna Kellogg and is the award-winning source of free vegetable recipes, quick, easy, and yes, delicious. Start with the famous asparagus-to-zucchini Alphabet of Vegetables or dive into all the Weight Watchers vegetable recipes or all the low carb vegetable recipes.

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