Healthy Sandwich for Lunch Anyone?
Tangy capers, lemony dressing, crunchy bites of gherkin, chopped olives and red onion create a unique and delicious tuna salad that can be spread on grilled bread or buttery toast.
This is not your old-fashioned mayonnaise-laden tuna salad but is just as easy to prepare. The Mediterranean flavors of roasted red peppers, chopped olives, gherkins and capers complement the tuna. I personally use a heavy hand when adding these to my salad, but you can certainly adjust these items to your taste.
This is a great, healthy, no-mayo tuna preparation to make a sandwich with or adding to a green salad, but BE BRAVE and serve this as a hearty appetizer over toasted crostini (like the Spaniards do), or stuffed in a pita pocket with some lettuce, tomato slices and microgreens (as they do in Greece). And finally, if you want to make it into a dip, toss the mixture of ingredients along with the dressing into a food processor and puree until smooth and creamy to serve with carrot sticks and crackers.
Besides the fantastic flavor of this salad, canned tuna is one of the healthiest, most affordable sources of protein that is rich with Omega-3 fatty acids, high in Vitamin D and low in carbs. Since most Americans don’t get enough omega-3s or enough Vitamin D, this is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to overcome those deficiencies.
Let’s make lunch easy, unique, delicious, AND healthy!!
Mediterranean Tuna Salad
Ingredients
4 slices of baguette pieces, lightly grilled, or crostini
1 can (5 oz) of tuna in water, drained
1/8 cup O&V Red Wine vinegar
1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup O&V Single Estate Olive oil
¼ red onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon of chopped O&V Castelvetrano Olives
1 tablespoon EACH of chopped Black Olives, gherkins, capers
1 tablespoon of chopped O&V Sun Dried Tomatoes
2 tablespoons of chopped O&V Roasted Red Peppers
Preparation
Combine the vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt and pepper in a blender. Gradually add olive oil while the blender is running till well combined.
In a separate bowl, combine the onion, tuna, chopped peppers, olives, gherkins capers and sun-dried tomatoes (see Chef Note). Mix dressing into the tuna well (you may not need all the dressing), and allow to sit for at least 15 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld.
Serve on top of grilled bread as an open-faced sandwich, or in a regular sandwich.
Serves 2
Active Time: 20 minutes Total Time: 20 minutes
Chef Note:
Feel free to add (as I do), more of the chopped olives, gherkins, sun dried tomatoes, capers, and/or roasted red peppers to your salad to your taste preferences. My version is heavy on the red peppers and gherkins!!
Note:
I love the taste of O&V’s oak barrel aged Cabernet Sauvignon red wine vinegar which has a nice balance of sweetness and acidity. This Bonsecco Unflavored Oil adds great olive flavor to the dressing. You may use another high-quality red wine vinegar or even a nice tart sherry vinegar instead, and your favorite high-end EVOO
Most Oil & Vinegar stores carry Castelvetrano Olives, Roasted Red Peppers and Sun-Dried Tomatoes. I recommend using the best quality products you can find as the essence of this salad is in the freshness and quality of the ingredients.
Categories: Appetizer, Breakfast & Brunch, Soups & Salads, Snacks & Sides, Seafood, Fish, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, No-Mayo Tuna Salad, Spanish Tuna Salad, Mediterranean Tuna Salad, Castelvetrano Olives, Unflavored EVOO, Cabernet Sauvignon Red Wine Vinegar, Roasted Red Peppers, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Gherkins, Black Olives, Tuna Pinchos, Tapas Option, Healthy, Easy, Light Lunch, Tuna Sandwich
