Seared Ahi Tuna Salad

We eat a lot of salads in the summer, or whenever the weather is too warm or hot.  I think my husband could easily eat the same salad all the time and would never tire of it.  Me, I love variety, and so I mix things up quite a bit all the time.  Our temperatures were in the mid 90’s again today, so it was a perfect day for a cool summer salad with a lot of vegetables and seared ahi tuna.  Because I love so many vegetables, colors and textures in my foods, I tend to put in a little bit of everything.  But when you add a little bit of a lot of things, it turns out to be a HUGE salad.   One time my brother-in-law came over for lunch on one of the days we were having salads.  He was under the impression it would be a smaller, light salad.  He was in for a quick surprise.  He has since learned when I make a salad, I REALLY make a salad.

I started out with a base of chopped Romaine lettuce, then built my salads from there, adding sliced cucumbers, grape tomatoes, sliced red bell peppers, shredded carrots, sliced red onions, green beans, sliced green onions, hard boiled eggs, toasted almond slivers, and then topped it all off with some shaved Parmagiano cheese.  Again, I love all kinds of vegetables, and as I have said before, I like a lot of stuff in my stuff.  There is no right or wrong way to make a salad like this.  Add what you like and forget the rest.

 

They are almost done.  Just waiting for the grilled tuna, and then the finishing touches of green onions, toasted almonds and the cheese.  You can easily make the main part of the salad ahead of time and just chill before serving it.

 

Today’s marinade/dressing was a soy ginger vinaigrette with fresh basil.

 

Soy Ginger Vinaigrette

1 TBSP garlic

1 TBSP ginger

1/3 cup soy sauce

1-2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/3 cup rice vinegar

2-3 TBSP honey

1/3-1/2 cup orange juice

1/2 cup olive oil.

2 tsp fresh bail, chopped fine.

 

Whisk everything together and chill.

I used the same dressing as a marinade for my tuna as well (separately of course though).  Since ahi tuna is a thicker, heavier and heartier fish, I marinated it for a couple of hours in the refrigerator before grilling it.  I grilled it to a golden brown all around and kept the center nice and pink.  This is called searing your meat.

Enjoying our cool summer salad on our deck with a nice view of our ponds.  I served a cool, crisp chardonnay with hints of green apple and honey and warmed cheese bread along with our salads.