Mediterranean Tuna Salad – Recipe!

There are many ways to enjoy delicious tuna. The internet is flooded with high-calorie tuna salads based on processed mayonnaise.

They are rich in unhealthy fats and are a calorie bomb, so today we will recommend a healthier recipe, but also made up of a combination of foods that offer a wider range of flavors.

Forget boring tuna salads and enjoy the refreshing, crunchy, and nutritious Mediterranean tuna salad!

Mediterranean tuna salad has the potential to be a filling main meal, but you can also use it as a snack in combination with couscous salad or delicious hummus. It is prepared quite quickly and easily, in just 15 minutes.

This tuna salad goes best with thinly sliced ​​and toasted bread or pita bread.

A substitute for mayonnaise, or the component that “binds” this tuna salad, is mustard with a rich and unique sour, slightly tangy flavor, called Dijon.

Tuna salad is a healthy meal.

All the ingredients that make up the Mediterranean tuna salad are particularly healthy, so their combination only further enhances the effect.

For example, tuna is an excellent source of protein, essential omega-3 fatty acids, but also of micronutrients, such as vitamin B6, B12, vitamin A, iron, zinc, magnesium, potassium, etc.

The best choice is light tuna in larger pieces, in olive oil. The other ingredients used for the salad are rich in a number of other very important nutrients and powerful antioxidant components.

So, in addition to the tuna, cucumbers, celery, radishes, onions, Mediterranean Kalamata olives, lemon are also used, and for additional freshness, finely chopped pieces of parsley and mint are added. All of this is combined with a salad dressing based on Dijon mustard. It can also be combined with spring onions.

Ingredients:

(serves up to 5 people)

For the salad dressing:

• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• half a squeezed lemon
• 2 tablespoons cold-pressed olive oil
• half a tablespoon of sumac
• salt and pepper, to taste
• half a teaspoon of chili (if you like it spicy)

For the salad (finely chopped):

• 150 grams of tuna (whole pieces in olive oil)
• 2 pieces of celery
• 1 medium-sized cucumber
• 4-5 small radishes
• 1 red onion
• 1/2 cup of kalamata olives (pitted)
• a few sprigs of parsley
• a few fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
• cherry tomatoes, optional

How to prepare Mediterranean tuna salad?

The recipe consists of 2 parts:

1. Preparing the salad dressing.

In a small deep bowl, place all the previously listed ingredients for the salad dressing and mix until completely homogenized.

2. Preparing the salad

Finely chop all the fresh ingredients (and the kalamata olives) in a large bowl and mix the whole mixture well. The mixing should be thorough, but gentle, and with a wooden spoon. Finally, add the tuna, and gently mix again with a wooden spoon. Let the salad stand in the refrigerator for at least an hour and a half. After removing it from the refrigerator, wait about 15 minutes before consuming it.

Serve with toasted or pita bread. It is best combined with fresh tomato and spring onion.

Storage and preparation in advance

You can use this tuna salad for up to 2 days, of course, by storing it in the refrigerator at a suitable low temperature. If you want to prepare it for the next day, do not mix the ingredients in advance (fresh, salad dressing, and fish). Prepare them separately and put them in the refrigerator.

Nutritional value of Mediterranean tuna salad

According to the quantities listed above, Mediterranean tuna salad has about 300 calories, about 21g of fat, 27g of protein, 8g of carbohydrates and several micronutrients, the most important of which are: vitamin B3, vitamin B12, vitamin K, phosphorus, vitamin C, iron, zinc, magnesium, potassium and many others in smaller quantities.