Tuna-Macaroni Salad

So simple! So good!

What the heck is Tennessee chow chow?

I have never been to the South and don't know what chow chow is. But I have been putting tuna in my Macaroni Salad for fifty years: Elbows, red onion, celery, tuna, green olives, frozen peas, salt and pepper, splash of vinegar, only Hellman's mayo.

I think this recipe can be easily "ramped up" by adding grated carrot, instead of cornichon rounds, "high quality bread and butter pickles/sweet" and some reputable hot sauce or pepper flakes to give it a bit of heat.

Personally, I appreciate when people add their own ideas about how the recipe can be altered. Perhaps someone doesn't have all the ingredients and wants to know what else can be used or doesn't like all the ingredients and would like substitutes. I also don't see the need to criticize others' comments. Thanks everyone for taking the time to offer your ideas.

It's a delicious Southern pickle relish. You can buy it jarred, but we also have a recipe: http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/11487-green-tomato-chowchow. Happy cooking!

How in the world can you review a recipe that you haven't made? In addition, I prefer to see a review of this recipe--not the changes you have made or your grandmother's recipe that you consider much better.

Chow chow can also be found under the name "piccalilly." Basically a relish with mustard.

I don't know. I never did like the combo of mayonnaise and pasta. Its appeal seems to be nostalgia for the seventies among both boomers and hipsters. What I would love to see would be a recipe for a good, maybe a bit updated, tuna-noodle casserole. I love canned tuna-- but packed in oil. If my mother were still around, I'd get her recipe and tinker with it.

My great 'secret' to any macaroni salad is using elbow macaroni from Trader Joe's. It's not named "elbow" on the package - just macaroni.
It is slightly larger and grooved, but not too large to dominate the dish.

I halved the recipe; 1 tuna can is now 5 oz - recommend 2. Lacking chow chow and cornichons, I substituted spicy home canned bread and butter pickles. Great lunch with tomatoes - and comfort food.

So you didn't make this recipe!

Fresh garden peas! And that lemon garlic mayo that was in the Cooking newsletter this week (tho no anchovies here). A little bit of chopped fresh kale, chives because no scallions, chopped lambs'-quarters also. One chopped radish. Finally decided to stop. Oh, and only one can of tuna.

So I made this in my 'new' kitchen and daily tried to write this note but kept getting sidelined by the 'just one more bite' phenomenon. To me, the magic comes from letting this cure overnight. I added thinly sliced red onions, sliced baby green olives, and sweet relish, along with everything else. I love the counterpoint of the sweet relish with the cornichons and olives. That's what does it for me. Next time, I'll upgrade the tuna.

Nice recipe but I prefer to use yellowtail tuna in olive oil, drained, plus my homemade piccalilli which is identical to chow chow. Also, I prefer regular mayo. It seems a bit ludicrous to use low fat cheddar cheese and pasta, like diet soda with a slice of chocolate cake.
For the contributor who wanted tuna casserole, make a bechamel, omit the pickled stuff and mayo. and mix in all the rest. Pour in a casserole dish top with panko or any other breadcrumbs and bake til bubbly and golden. Done.

Have any readers actually made this exactly as written? And how did it turn out?