Tuna Potato Salad

Few years ago I had a chance to spend an afternoon in a local bar in Milna, the old fishermen village on the island of Brač in Croatian Adriatic. My sailing yacht was moored in a marina and I was waiting for my guests to get back from the trip to the inside of the island.

Unusual for the late July, a boring drizzle appeared from grey clouds that afternoon and I had no other choice but to check out local bar. Luckily for me the only guest at the bar was an old white bearded gentleman eager to kill some time. The chat started with a comment on weather conditions, as usual.

As the talk went on I learned that this gentleman used to be a cook on a fishing boat for years. He told me about a tuna potato salad he used to prepare to his hungry crew. It is a combination of tuna, potatoes, boiled eggs and tomatoes which seemed pretty strange and unusual to me. His story was so interesting at the end that I decided to memorize the recipe and prepare it to my guests when they return on board.

Cook potatoes and peel them when they are completely cooked – that can be determined by poking them with a fork. Slice the potatoes, hard-boiled eggs and green onions while fresh tomatoes should be peeled and cut into small cubes. In a separate small bowl prepare the dressing stirring together virgin olive oil, vinegar, a teaspoon of sugar, salt and ground black pepper with a whisk. Drip some dressing on the bottom of the bowl and start arranging the salad in this order: one layer of potato slices, then one layer of tuna pieces (available tinned in every supermarket), one layer of sliced hard-boiled eggs.

Overflow these layers with dressing and add some slices of green onions and repeat the procedure until you run out of ingredients. Make sure that you don’t use all dressing. Put tomato cubes into remaining dressing, add tightly cut parsley, stir the mixture vigorously and pour it over the salad. The salad should be cooled before serving.

Preparing this salad requires some more time but it is definitely worth it, believe me. I was pretty excited when I prepared the salad on board but my guests were not in a mood to spend the evening on board and left me with a bowl full of new salad. Don’t worry, I did not throw it away, the salad was my dinner that very evening and saved me from hunger the next day too…

I wish you a calm sea, a fine wind and a strong mast!