Tuna Pasta Salad
Home cooking is a window into family cultures, especially with foods families eat so often that even the kids know how to prepare them. Tuna fish was a staple of my childhood and those of my children. Beginning at about age 10, opening a can of tuna, mixing it with mayonnaise and making a sandwich became second nature. The same for my own children.
Only one of the students in our cooking class in Camden had tasted tuna fish. Yet these kids know how to make rice and beans and guacamole, a much more desirable skill in my book!
Nonetheless, on our second week of cooking classes, we were making Tuna Pasta Salad, something none of them was familiar with. It was on regular rotation in my family, along with tuna noodle casserole, especially during Lent, as it is quick, easy and inexpensive to prepare.
We talked about the benefits of including fish in our diets, the benefits for our brains and our hearts, and even for our hair and our skin. Canned tuna is such an affordable way to get fish on the menu, and since it’s canned, it won’t spoil like fresh fish if it’s not eaten quickly.
After reviewing the recipe, these young chefs got right to work, first setting the pot of water to boil for the pasta and then chopping the vegetables.
Five students each got a scallion to chop, and most handled it with aplomb. “Ta da!” exclaimed Angy Reyes when she finished. Laura Ramos suffered a bit from the onion vapors. “Oh gosh, my eyes are watering,” she said.
Taylor Rodriguez impressed by using the dull side of the knife to scrape the chopped scallions from the cutting board into a bowl. “Yay Taylor, look at you, you remembered not to dull the blade by using the sharp side,” I praised.
“You showed me how to do that last week,” she said, as if to say, of course she remembered.
Brianna Veletenga was tasked with dicing the red pepper, and after minimal instruction, she completed the job perfectly.
We were adding fresh dill to our recipe, and the kids loved smelling the fronds.
“It smells like a minty tree,” said Laura. “It looks like grass,” said Angy. “But it smells good!”
Ezian Delgado, who had bragged about how easy it was to stir the pasta, quietly asked to tap out. The stirring was easy, he said, but after a while his hand was getting hot. Scarlett, one of our graduates from last year, who was subbing in for a sick student, took over. Brianna added the frozen peas to the boiling pasta to cook them for a few minutes.
Next, the yogurt and mayonnaise were mixed with the dill and a pinch of salt and pepper; the cans of tuna were opened and drained. And soon the pasta and peas were done and drained.
And now it was time to mix everything together. Everyone wanted a chance to stir, taking care to bring all the vegetables up from the from the bottom.
“I’m not going to lie,” said Angy, as she stirred, coating the pasta and vegetables with the creamy sauce. “This is so satisfying to do.”
When the tasting began, all the kids gave the recipe a thumbs up, and everyone wanted to bring home leftovers. A couple of teachers from the afterschool program asked for a taste, and then for the recipe. All of the pasta was gobbled up, and most of the plates were scraped clean. But there were some vegetables left on a couple of plates.
As Ezian wrote in his book (translated from Spanish): “I like the pasta and the tuna, but I don’t like vegetables.” Yet, he went on: “I felt happy because I learned something new.”
Scarlett wrote: “Cooking class makes me feel welcome and appreciated.”
And my favorite journal entry came from Laura: “Cooking class makes be feel so educated and independent.”
