spicy tuna salad
I don’t eat as much fish as I should (as a matter of fact, I don’t think I’ve ever included a fish recipe on this blog, which is just embarrassing). Since reading this book a few years ago, I just get a little anxiety about what fish are safe to buy both for our own health and for the health of the planet and species. It’s quite confusing. The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s website is a wonderful resource, and I’ve recently been getting back on the fish bandwagon with their help. Earth Fare has recently moved to our neighborhood, and they have some basic benchmarks in terms of the type of seafood that they are willing to carry, so that has been helpful too.
A few years ago, my sister was in the Peace Corps in Benin (western Africa), and my mom would send her giant care packages of food from home. One of her favorites was this spicy tuna that came in one of those vacuum-sealed bags, but my mom could only find it at certain stores. I would always be on the lookout for her, and, if I found some, I would buy it up for Mom’s next care package. Along the way, I may have sneaked a pack or two for myself, and it was delicious. But I figured I could make my own version pretty easily (and more cheaply and sustainably). I bought some canned light tuna at Earth Fare because it was rated as a “best choice” from Monterey’s website, plus, supposedly, the smaller fish on the food chain have less of an issue with mercury and phthalates (I mean, seriously, it is practically a part-time job trying to research all the junk that goes into our food – even when we’re eating whole, real food!). Jasper loves this meal and would eat it every day if I would let him.
Spicy tuna salad
A Sara original
Ingredients
2 5-ounce cans of tuna, preferably sustainably caught
small onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 avocado, smashed
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo (depending on how spicy you want it)
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
juice of small lemon
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp siracha
salt and pepper
Directions
Drain the tuna. Mix the mayo, chipotle peppers, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, siracha and avocado first. Then add the remaining ingredients and mix just until combined. The avocado takes the place of the typical larger amount of mayonnaise and makes it creamy and delicious in contrast to the kick from the peppers and siracha. We like to eat it open-faced on slices of bread, but it’s really good on top of salad greens too.
