Three-ingredient tuna salad: A simple yet nutritious delight

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

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

As we mentioned earlier, canned tuna is a tasty and valuable salad ingredient, such as the famous French classic, the Niçoise salad, made with 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 value. It remains a rich source of complete and easily digestible protein, containing all essential amino acids in a ratio that closely matches human needs.

Like all sea fish, tuna provides many unsaturated fatty acids, which, among other benefits, lower triglycerides and "bad" LDL cholesterol levels (thus reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases), strengthen the immune system, ensure the proper functioning of the nervous system, and positively impact 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 significant amount 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 excellent condition of bones, teeth, gums, and joints.

The problem, however, is that tuna meat accumulates a lot of heavy metals: 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, after birth, through the mother's milk, potentially causing serious developmental disorders.

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

This is one of the symbols of Mediterranean cuisine. Just like the third ingredient of the salad – a slightly spicy vinaigrette sauce. How to prepare it? Pour olive oil (240 ml) and red wine (80 ml) into a jar, add garlic (2 cloves, previously pressed), lemon juice, Dijon mustard (one teaspoon), dried oregano (one teaspoon), dried basil (half a teaspoon), and salt (half a teaspoon). Close the jar and shake until all the sauce ingredients are combined.

Drain the tuna in its own juice (two cans) and transfer to a bowl, lightly flaking it with a fork. Add drained capers (2 tablespoons) and vinaigrette (3-4 tablespoons). Gently mix.

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