Martha Stewart's Favorite Tuna Salad Sandwich Gets A Refreshing Boost From This Fruit

Everyone seems to have a basic tuna salad recipe in their back pocket. However, it's time to do away with the classics. Instead, invite a new, refreshing twist on your tinned fish-based recipe from the culinary icon, Martha Stewart. Her addition: Toss in some diced apples for a burst of sweet flavor. Even better, the little cubes add a crunchy texture to the dish, helping to combat the tuna's mushy consistency, which when ignored can be one of the biggest mistakes you're making with tuna salad.

For even more freshness, leave the skin on the fruit and cut it into pieces (about ¼ inch), so you get a thorough tidbit in every spoonful or bite of sandwich. As for the type of apple, Martha Stewart's recipe calls for either a McIntosh, which has a brilliant acidity and tart (yet still sweet) taste. She also recommends Gala apples due to their robust, crisp skin and juiciness. As a general rule of thumb, use about one apple per 12 ounces of tuna. If you plan to prep the ingredients ahead of time, use this tip for the best way to keep apples from browning.

Better yet, plenty of other apple varieties work well in this dish, too. If you want a tart kick, choose a Granny Smith apple for a show-stopping bite that pairs well with the salty tuna. If you go with this apple, it doesn't hurt to add a touch of sweetness to try to balance out flavors. Consider a newer variety that's well-loved, like the SweeTango apple. This particular one is known for its superb sugariness and crisp flesh that's supposed to snap, perfect for vamping up the freshness in your next sandwich.

While apples are a key touch in Stewarts' recipe, there are over other simple ways to take plain tuna salad to the next level, and you can combine them to create a one-of-a-kind salad. For example, merge the briny crunch of celery with the juicy snap of apples for a texturally pleasing bite, pair pungent onion with the fruit for a balance of flavors, or even choose dried apples instead of fresh.

An apple-based tuna salad idea is perfect for sandwiching between two soft, lush slices of bread, or you can scoop it up with your favorite buttery crackers for another layer of complexity. If you really want to double down on the apple flavors, consider slicing two different varieties of the fruit. Choose one type for folding inside the tuna and another one to cut into rounds, which you can use as a vessel to mound the tuna salad on for a mouthwatering bite.