Deviled Egg Tuna Pasta (or Potato) Salad

I have a bunch of fresh produce on hand I should probably be using/cooking, but I have been craving something like this during hot weather. I made a potato salad version of this (without tuna) a couple weeks ago, and it was delish. The "deviled egg" component is that the hard-boiled egg yolks are mashed into the dressing, like how you would make deviled egg filling. When you add chopped hard-boiled eggs to a pasta or potato salad, the yolks tend to disintegrate anyway, so why not? It gives a nice yellow hue to the salad.

The ingredients and quantities are suuuuuper adaptable. For potato salad, use maybe 6 medium/large potatoes, cubed and boiled in salted water until just tender (I don't peel). You can use less or more mayo depending on the consistency you like (I don't like it super-gloppy), and/or sub in some sour cream or plain Greek yogurt to lighten it up (lowfat versions if that's your jam). Leave out the tuna if you're not a fan, or add another can if you want some more protein. Use less or more eggs (I have seen variations of this recipe online that use up to 12 eggs. That seems...eggy), less or more celery. You can also add whatever else you like in your pasta or potato salads:
- pickles (yum) or olives (meh)
- fresh herbs like parsley or dill
- other chopped veggies like bell peppers, cucumber, carrot, even some finely chopped raw broccoli

If you add raisins though, I'm not sure we can be friends.

Deviled Egg Tuna Pasta Salad

- 1/2 box pasta (shells, elbows or other small shape)
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise (sub with part sour cream and/or plain yogurt if you like)
- 1 Tbl mustard (I like Dijon)
- 2 Tbl vinegar (I used cider vinegar)
- salt & black pepper to taste
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- dash of hot sauce
- 2-4 ribs of celery, thinly sliced (I like the crunch of celery so I use a lot)
- 2-3 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 can tuna, drained

1. Cook pasta in well-salted water until just al dente. Drain & rinse under cold water, let it hang out in the colander.
2. Hard boil the eggs (cover eggs with water, bring to boil, turn off heat, cover & let sit 12 mins. Then cool in ice water). Peel, halve and scoop the yolks out into a large bowl. Roughly chop the whites and set aside.
3. Mash the egg yolks in the bowl and add the mayo, mustard, vinegar, sugar & seasonings. Mix well. Taste and see if it needs anything (it will coat a lot of stuff, so make sure it's well-seasoned).
4. Add the celery, green onions and tuna; mix until combined. Then stir in the cooled pasta. Gently stir in the chopped egg whites last.
5. Refrigerate at least one hour before serving. The pasta will absorb more dressing the longer it sits. Sprinkle with paprika before serving, if you like.
6. Let your cat go to town on the empty tuna can. 😻