This is the dish I accidentally made for my friend Nick on his first visit to France. I put the whole packet of pasta in the pan without thinking and made enough for nearly a week. It has been that way ever since. Some dishes refuse to be made in small quantities.
Use coquillettes, the small elbow pasta. Wholegrain if you can find them, they hold their shape better and are kinder on the digestion. Boil them al dente, check the packet for timing, then stop the cooking immediately by running cold water over them in the colander until the pasta is completely cold. Do not skip this step.
While the pasta cooks, make a mayonnaise. The recipe is here in the Library if you need it.
In a large bowl, mix the mayo with your additions: sliced gherkins, finely chopped red onion, tuna in brine drained, and sweetcorn. Stir everything together so the mayo coats it all. Then add the cold pasta and stir again until it is evenly mixed through.
Taste and adjust the seasoning.
The variations are half the pleasure. Cubes of tomato or cucumber if you have them. A few anchovies for depth. Chives or parsley if there are herbs to hand. Replace the tuna with cold cooked chicken, or leave the meat out entirely.
This is perfect for a picnic. It travels well, keeps in the fridge for a couple of days, and feeds more people than you planned for. That is the point.
