Mock tuna salad is vegan and gluten free. Raw sunflower seeds replace the tuna in this recipe.
About this recipe
Mock tuna salad can replace “real” tuna salad on any plate. Use it in sandwiches, in stuffed tomatoes and on cold salad plates. Put it in a bowl as a dip with chips or toasted pita points. It tastes great and has very convincing mouth-feel.
Soaked raw sunflower seeds replace tuna in this recipe. That means a healthy dose of anti-inflammatory vitamin-E, plenty of minerals, B-vitamins and folate. Vegenaise instead of mayonnaise keeps mock tuna salad vegan and gluten free.
Lots of brightly colored vegetables add even more nutritional value to this salad. There is also plenty of healthy fiber. The total fat content if low and I like to use the vegenaise made with grape seed oil. Plenty of whole food health for everyone here.
Ingredients
1 cup Raw organic Sunflower Seeds 1/4 cup Red Bell Pepper, fine diced
1/4 cup Yellow Bell Pepper, fine diced 1/4 cup Carrot, fine diced
1/4 cup Celery, fine diced 1/4 cup Red Onion, fine diced
1 tablespoon Fresh Garlic, minced 1 tablespoon Yellow Mustard
1/4 cup Grape Seed Oil Vegenaise 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground Black Pepper 2 tablespoons Capers, chopped
Optional: 1 tablespoon minced Fresh Turmeric Root or 1/2 teaspoon Ground Turmeric or Curry Powder
Zest and Juice of 1/2 Lemon or 1/2 Orange
Preparation
Start the mock tuna salad recipe with 1 cup raw organic sunflower seeds and a 1 quart container
Soak the sunflower seeds in 3 cups water for 4-6 hours at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator.
Drain the soaked sunflower seeds and rinse well under cold running water.
Transfer the rinsed seeds to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until they have the consistency you want. I like them partly smooth, with no pieces larger than half of a seed.
Put the processed seeds into a mixing bowl to finish the mock tuna salad recipe.
Add all of the other ingredients to the bowl with the processed seeds and mix together well. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper if needed. Add any fresh herbs you might like at this time.
The finished mock tuna salad recipe should be enough for 5-6 generous portions. It will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Recipe variations
Curry mock tuna salad is my favorite variation of this recipe. I like add a tablespoon of course chopped fresh turmeric root to the processor along with the soaked sunflower seeds. A little extra mustard, a pinch of red chile powder and a dash of ground cumin give this salad a nice yellow color and mild curry flavor.
Make a deviled mock tuna salad by using fermented garlic dill pickles instead of capers. Again, add a little extra mustard. An extra pinch of black pepper will really help perk up the flavor of this version.
This is a great recipe to experiment with whatever extra vegetables might be in the refrigerator. Fine diced parsnip, broccoli stalks, red or golden beets, zucchini and yellow squash all work well in this type of salad. Fruit, fresh or dried, offers many more flavor variations. Try using dried cranberries or tart cherries or fresh apple or pear.