Marinaded Tuna Salad
Marinated Tuna Salad * how to prepare cucumberMarinated Tuna Salad1 medium-sized cucumber, peeled and diced2 celery stalks, sliced1/3 onion, diced (optional)1/2 tomato, diced (optional)1 c balsamic vinaigrette1 can tuna in water (drained)mayonnaisefeta cheese (optional)Place the diced vegetables into a medium-sized mixing bowl and pour the balsamic vinaigrette over them. Cover and place in fridge for at least one hour.Drain the tuna and mix with a little mayo—just enough to combine. Scoop the veggies from the vinaigrette with a slotted spoon or fork and add to the tuna mixture. Stir and serve as a wrap or pita with feta cheese sprinkled on top.Welcome to the Real Life Cooking Podcast. I’m Kate Shaw and this week we’re going to learn how to make marinated tuna salad. This recipe is from my friend Jennifer, a science fiction writer who you may know by the name J.B. Rockwell. If you’re looking for something new to read, I recommend her Serengeti trilogy, which is about an AI spaceship. I’ll put a link to the first book in the show notes. It’s also available as a really good audiobook.https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29006650-serengetiAnyway, Jen sent me this recipe a few weeks ago and I’ve made it several times already. It’s easy to make, and marinating the vegetables gives them a delicious tang. You will need to start the marinade about an hour before you plan to eat, though.For this recipe you’ll need a medium-sized mixing bowl and a small mixing bowl. You’ll also need a cucumber and a few celery stalks. You can add any other vegetables you like, but the cucumber and celery are the heart of this recipe.If you’ve never made a recipe that calls for cucumbers before, you may not know how to prepare them. Choose small to medium-sized cucumbers that are dark green in color and firm to the touch. Also make sure you’re buying a cucumber and not a small zucchini, which I almost did without thinking, because they look a lot alike at first glance. The larger a cucumber is, the more seedy it is, and you want to minimize the seediness. Peel the cucumber just like you would a potato, then slice the ends off. Then just cut it into thin slices. For this recipe you’ll want to cut the slices into quarters too, because you want the pieces bite-sized.Put all your diced vegetables into the medium-sized mixing bowl and pour about a cup of balsamic vinaigrette over them. This should cover the veggies; if it doesn’t, add a little more. On the other hand, if you didn’t use that many veggies you may not need a full cup of the vinaigrette.You buy balsamic vinaigrette in the salad dressing section of the store. Jen says you can make your own with 2/3 c balsamic vinegar mixed with 1/3 c olive oil and Italian seasonings, but if you do end up making your own you’ll probably want to make it a few days ahead of time if possible so the seasonings can flavor the other ingredients properly.Cover the bowl with foil or plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge for at least an hour. You probably don’t want to leave this marinating overnight, but a few hours is fine.After an hour is up, or when you’re ready to eat, get out your small mixing bowl, or a small serving bowl or a big cereal bowl. Drain a can of tuna well and put the tuna into the bowl. My cats would like to remind you that you can drain the tuna onto a saucer and give them the tuna water. Then mix the tuna with a little mayonnaise—just enough to stick the tuna together, basically. You don’t need a lot.Then take out the bowl of marinating vegetables. You want to add the veggies to the tuna, not the other way round, because you don’t want all that vinaigrette in your salad or it’ll be more like tuna salad soup. You can scoop the veggies out of the marinade with