Tuna salad simplified: A three-ingredient culinary delight

Today, tuna regularly appears on our tables. In stores, you can buy both raw tuna (great for making sushi, tartare, or steak) and canned tuna, either in its own sauce or oil, which is excellent for sandwiches or salads.

What should you pay attention to when buying canned tuna? First, the ingredients should be as minimal as possible, limited to fish, water or vegetable oil, and salt. Avoid cans that contain artificial additives, like flavorings.

As mentioned earlier, canned tuna is a tasty and valuable salad ingredient. It is featured in the famous French classic, the Niçoise salad, which includes Romaine lettuce, bell peppers, anchovy fillets, capers, hard-boiled eggs, and black olives.

You can also prepare a simpler but equally delicious snack from tuna, for which you will only need two other ingredients.

Canned tuna does not lose its nutritional values. It remains a rich source of complete and easily digestible protein, containing all essential amino acids in a ratio that most closely matches human needs.

Like all sea fish, tuna provides many unsaturated fatty acids, which lower triglycerides and "bad" LDL cholesterol levels, thus reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases. These fatty acids also strengthen the immune system, ensure proper nervous system functioning, and have a positive impact on well-being.

The fish is a treasure trove of vitamins, including D (involved in most life processes), B1 (supports brain and muscle function), B3 (a component of many enzymes involved in carbohydrate and fat metabolism), and B6 (supports the immune system). It contains a lot of selenium, which protects cells from harmful free radicals and stimulates the immune system, and phosphorus, which supports the nervous system, helps maintain acid-base balance, and is responsible for the health of bones, teeth, gums, and joints.

The problem, however, is that tuna meat can accumulate heavy metals like cadmium, mercury, zinc, and lead. Therefore, pregnant women and children up to 7 years old limit or even exclude seafish from their diet, particularly tuna and salmon. The heavy metals ingested by the mother through food can enter the fetus's body through the umbilical cord blood and the mother's milk after birth, potentially causing severe developmental disorders.

What, besides tuna, will be in our salad? Capers, which are the unopened buds of the thorny caper bush, picked early in the morning and then marinated in vinegar, oil, brine, or salt.

Capers are one of the symbols of Mediterranean cuisine, just like the third ingredient of the salad—a slightly spicy vinaigrette sauce. How do you prepare it? Pour olive oil (one cup) and red wine vinegar (1/3 cup) into a jar. Add two cloves of pressed garlic, lemon juice, one teaspoon of Dijon mustard, one teaspoon of dried oregano, half a teaspoon of dried basil, and half a teaspoon of salt. Close the jar and shake until all the sauce ingredients are combined.

Drain two cans of tuna in its own juice and transfer to a bowl, lightly flaking it with a fork. Add two tablespoons of drained capers and three to four tablespoons of vinaigrette. Gently mix.

The salad tastes great on toast, baguette, or a roll. You can also serve it with a bagel or crackers.