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A person holds a brown plate piled with tuna salad over a thick layer of white yogurt or labneh, with sliced red onion, cucumber, herbs, and dark olives visible.
joey @ joeycooksfoods

Mediterranean Tuna Salad with Capers, Olives, and Herbs

This is not your average Mediterranean tuna salad with capers. No sad can of tuna. No watery cucumbers. No boring dressing. This one has buttery Ventresca tuna, briny olives, and pops of capers folded right into the dressing. Plus crisp endive and a creamy labneh base that ties everything together. It's a 20-minute salad that’s worth sitting down for.
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Total Time 25 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Dinner, lunch, Salad
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Calories: 444
Ingredients Method Nutrition Video Notes

Ingredients
  

For the Cucumbers
  • 1 pound Persian cucumbers sliced into thin half-moons
  • Kosher salt
For the Quick-Pickled Onions
  • 1 small red onion thinly sliced
  • Red wine vinegar enough to cover
For the Salad
  • 4 ounces endive sliced into bite-size pieces (See Note 1)
  • ¼ cup roughly chopped fresh parsley
  • ¼ cup roughly chopped fresh dill
  • 1 pound about 2–3 jars Ventresca tuna, oil-packed, lightly drained as needed (See Note 2)
  • 1 tablespoon za’atar
  • Kosher salt
  • Ground black pepper
For the Dressing
  • Juice from 1 lemon
  • 2 tablespoons olive juice
  • 1/4 cup Kalamata olives roughly chopped
  • 1 tablespoon Capers roughly chopped
  • ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
To Plate
  • 2 cups labneh or plain Greek yogurt about ½ cup per plate
  • Olive oil for drizzling
  • Lemon juice for finishing
  • Za’atar
  • Freshly cracked black pepper

Method
 

  1. Salt the cucumbers. Place the sliced cucumbers in a fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl and season them with salt. Toss well, then let them sit while you prepare the rest of the salad (see Note 3).
  2. Quick-pickle the onions. Place the sliced red onion in a small bowl and pour in enough red wine vinegar to submerge or generously coat the onions. Let them sit for 10 minutes, until they lose some of their raw bite and take on a brighter, lightly pickled flavor. Once they’ve softened slightly, drain them well before adding to the salad.
  3. Prep the salad components. Trim the endive and separate the leaves or chop it into bite-size pieces, depending on how you want the salad to eat. Roughly chop the parsley and dill. If your tuna is especially oil-heavy, lightly drain it so the finished salad doesn’t feel weighed down, then keep the flakes as intact as possible for texture.
  4. Make the dressing. In a large bowl, combine the chopped olives, chopped capers, lemon juice, and olive juice. Whisk to combine, then slowly stream in the olive oil while whisking continuously until the dressing looks glossy and emulsified. Season with za’atar and black pepper.
  5. Drain the cucumbers and assemble. Once the cucumbers release some liquid, gently press or shake off the excess moisture and pat them dry if needed. Add the endive, cucumbers, drained pickled onions, parsley, dill, and tuna to the bowl with the dressing. Toss gently so everything gets evenly coated without breaking up the tuna too much. Taste, adding more lemon or salt to taste.
  6. Plate and finish. For 1 serving, spread about ½ cup of labneh or plain Greek yogurt onto each plate in a loose swoosh or circular layer. Drizzle the yogurt with a little olive oil, then mound the salad on top. Finish each plate with a squeeze of lemon, a crack of black pepper, and a sprinkle of za’atar. Serve immediately.
  7. Storage. If you’re not serving the salad immediately, keep the labneh separate and refrigerate the salad in an airtight container. It will still be good the next day, but the texture is best within the first 1 to 2 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 444kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 26gFat: 36g

Video

Notes

  1. If you don’t have endive or just don’t love it, chopped arugula or romaine work. 
  2. Ventresca gives this salad a softer, richer, more luxurious texture, but a good oil-packed albacore will work. If you’re shopping for higher-end tuna, check Mediterranean markets or smaller grocers first—prices can vary a lot.
  3. This step draws off excess moisture so the cucumbers stay crisp and flavorful instead of watering down the salad later.

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