Barefoot Bloggers: Tuna Salad or This is Not Your Mother's Tuna Salad!

Put the mayo and the pickle relish away--this is a whole new kind of tuna salad. Ina Garten's Tuna Salad is made with fresh tuna and has sort of an Asian vibe going on. It's light, fresh, and delicious--a great summer lunch or dinner for people you really like--because fresh tuna steak is not cheap!! I walked out of the first store I went to when I saw that fresh tuna was $30.99 a pound. If I paid that much for the tuna I would have to put it in my safe deposit box!! I ended up getting it at Whole Foods for $20.99 a pound. As always, I didn't use as much salt as our girl Ina calls for. I sprinkled kosher salt on the tuna steaks before cooking and then added a little additional salt to the mixture after tasting. I would definitely make this one again! Probably a good dish to make when you see tuna on sale at your grocery store.



INGREDIENTS

2 pounds very fresh tuna steak, cut 1-inch thick
4 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for brushing
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus extra for sprinkling (NOTE: taste dressing before adding salt)
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black, plus extra for sprinkling
2 limes, zest grated
1 teaspoon wasabi powder (available in the Asian food section of most grocery stores)
6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (3 limes)
2 teaspoons soy sauce
10 dashes hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco) (NOTE: I used all 10 dashes)
1 to 2 ripe Hass avocados, medium diced
1/4 cup minced scallions, white and green parts (2 scallions)
1/4 cup red onion, small diced

DIRECTIONS

Brush the tuna steaks with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the tuna steaks in a very hot saute pan and cook for only 1 minute on each side. Set aside on a platter.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the olive oil, salt, pepper, lime zest, wasabi, lime juice, soy sauce and hot sauce. Add the avocados to the vinaigrette.

Cut the tuna in chunks and place it in a large bowl. Add the scallions and red onion and mix well. Pour the vinaigrette mixture over the tuna and carefully mix.