Curried Tuna Salad

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Curried TunaEven though we’ve got pretty great weather year-round here in Honolulu, I’m certainly not immune to a little spring fever.  The longer, warmer days mean even more frequent trips to the beach and, more importantly, more frequent beach picnics.

While I’d love to be the kind of person who can put together a magazine shoot-worthy picnic set atop a chic table in a bag, more often than not, my picnics consist of  several friends huddling around a cooler, passing around Pyrex containers of food.  While I may fall short when it comes to providing ambiance, I’d like to think I can put together a mean assortment of food.  And this curried tuna salad?  I can assure you that it’ll probably be in just about every cooler I pack this summer.

Curried Tuna 1In this quick and easy dish, canned tuna is combined with sauteed onions, garlic, ginger and a hefty dose of curry powder while some sliced Serrano chile pepper provide a bit of heat .  I’d happily eat this stuff plain with a fork, with crackers or in a sandwich.  Hot, warm or cold.  With mayo or without.   Honestly, it’s hard to go wrong here.

Although I kept the salad plain and simple this time, I imagine the same sort of extras that you’d find in curried chicken salad (grapes, raisins and/or chopped apples) would all be welcome additions here as well.

Curried Tuna 2

Curried Tuna Salad

Yield: 3-4 servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

* 1/4 cup oil
* 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 teaspoons finely minced or grated fresh ginger
* 1 Tablespoon curry powder
* 3 cans (6 ounces each) tuna, drained
* 1/2 Serrano chile pepper, finely sliced
* salt
* pepper
* 1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
* mayonnaise (optional)

Other optional add-ins: cut grapes, raisins and/or chopped apples

Directions:

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture begins to turn golden. Add the curry powder and stir to coat.

Add the tuna and Serrano chile pepper and cook, stirring occasionally until heated through. Add salt and pepper to taste and then stir in the cilantro leaves. Add in the mayonnaise, if desired. Serve hot, at room temperature, or chilled.

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