Greetings from Egypt, where I’m on the tail-end of a very long research trip–one that has, unfortunately, made it pretty hard to cook things for myself. But lo! Here’s a quick and unique way to prepare a tuna salad. Habibi (darling).

Veggies on the board

Read to mix!

Yalla:

• 2 tbsp finely chopped red onion
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped small
• 4 cornichons (little spiced pickles!) sliced into roundels; if you don’t have these, chop up some ordinary pickles instead
• One 5-oz can of tuna in water, drained (I bet you could use tuna packed in oil, too)
• 3 tbsp tahina (sesame paste)
• 3 or 4 tbsp tomato paté, sundried tomato paste, or similar (such as sundried tomato pesto or another tangy tomato product)
• Salt and pepper, to taste

This may shock you, but all you need to do is combine the ingredients in a bowl. Serves one for a lovely, protein-packed lunch!