Salade Niçoise Inspired Tuna Pasta Salad

Ingredients:
2 5-oz cans albacore tuna, drained
1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives
2 tablespoons capote capers
1 lb asparagus, steamed and cut into 2 inch pieces
4 hard-boiled eggs, coarsely chopped
1/2 small red onion, diced
10 oz cooked pasta (I used cellentani aka cavatappi)
2-3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Toss all ingredients in a large bowl until well combined. Serve immediately. Refrigerate leftovers.

My thoughts:

Despite the somewhat silly name, this is my new favorite lunch in spring. It uses fresh, local skinny asparagus, and a few of my favorite other foods: olives and capers! Honestly, the connection to Salade Niçoise is tenuous at best but it is what I had in the back of my mind when making this dish. It does have a lot of the same flavors as the famous salad though.

I've been trying to make extra hardy and easy-to-pack meals lately because some days due to his class schedule, Matt has to pack both lunch and dinner, He can heat up leftovers for lunch but dinner needs to be cold. Luckily this salad is not only pretty but a full, filling meal by itself. It keeps well for a day or two refrigerated as well.

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