Deconstructed Tuna Salad

Featuring Catalina’s Choice Smoked Solid Pack Tuna in Olive Oil, this salad is a great way to use up whatever fresh ingredients you have on hand. Feel free to substitute whatever you like! Recipe courtesy Maria Covarrubias aka @mariainmoderation on Instagram, which is where we discovered she’s a fan of our canned tuna! Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 4 cups salad mix or one head of romaine lettuce
• 2 (6 oz) cans Catalina’s Choice Smoked Solid Pack Tuna in Olive Oil
• 1-1/2 cup cooked white quinoa
• 3/4 cup cherry tomatoes
• 4 kale leaves cut into strips, stems removed
• 3/4 cup fresh, peeled mango cut into strips
• 2 ripe avocados, peeled and sliced
• Ginger Sesame dressing (store bought or homemade)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Amaranth micros as optional garnish

Pickled Red Onion

• 1 medium red onion, sliced
• 6 tbsp fresh lemon or lime juice
• 6 tbsp hot water
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt

Purple Cauliflower Puree

• 1 head of purple cauliflower, cut into florets
• 2 medium apples, peeled, cut into slices and slightly salted
• 2 tbsp avocado oil
• Juice of 1 large lime
• Salt and pepper to taste

How to Prepare:

For the pickled red onion:

1. Slice onion and place into a bowl. Cover with equal parts lime or lemon juice and hot water with equal parts sugar and salt. (You may substitute white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar in place of citrus.) The total liquid should be enough that onion slices are submerged. Set aside for 20-30 minutes.

For the purple cauliflower puree:

1. Prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice and water.
2. Fill a large pot with water and 1 tablespoon salt and bring to a boil. Add cauliflower to boiling water and cook for 2-3 minutes (depending on the size of the florets).
3. Using a slotted spoon, remove cauliflower from boiling water and place into ice bath. Once cauliflower is cool enough to touch, move to paper towels and pat dry.
4. In a smaller pot, boil peeled apple slices until tender, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, refresh your ice bath with more ice. With a slotted spoon, remove apples from boiling water and place into ice bath. Reserve boiled apple water. Once apples are cool enough to touch, move to paper towels and pat dry. 
5. Into a blender add cooked cauliflower and apple, avocado oil and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Blend until very smooth. If mixture is too thick, add some of the reserved apple water as necessary. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Once you get a puree consistency, add lime juice. The color will magically turn Barbie pink with the acid and then return to the darker purple.

To prepare the salad:

1. In a large bowl combine lettuce mix, quinoa, cherry tomatoes and kale. Add dressing to taste, salt and pepper to taste, and toss together gently.
2. Spread about a half cup of the purple cauliflower puree onto the center of a plate.
3. Onto the puree place a handful of dressed salad mix and then top with a scoop of tuna, mango and avocado slices.
4. Garnish with pickled onion and microgreens.

Products

Catalina’s Choice Smoked Solid Pack Canned Tuna in Olive Oil