Ahi Tuna Salad

I whipped up this little bowl of awesomeness for lunch today.  If you like intense flavors this is the recipe for you.  It's also healthy which makes it extra awesome.  The recipe is intended for serving on sandwich rolls with arugula, which I'm sure would be incredible.  But today I just ate mine straight out of a bowl with a fork (and then sopped up the remaining dressing with a plain piece of white bread because I have no self control).  If you are not a tuna person, this dressing would also be great on chicken or shrimp.  Here's how I made it:

Ingredients:  ahi tuna, olive oil, kosher salt, lime, wasabi powder, soy sauce, hot sauce, avocado, red onion, scallion, and sesame seeds.

Rub an ahi tuna steak with olive oil.

Add it to a dry, screaming hot skillet.  Let it cook for about 1 1/2 - 2 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish.

Flip it and let it cook for another 1 1/2 - 2 minutes.

It should be a gorgeous shade of medium rare pink in the middle.  If you are weirded out by medium rare fish you can let it cook all the way through, but you'll loose some of the flavor and the wonderful texture that only seared fish can give you.

Let it cool and chop it up into bite size pieces.

Add some olive oil to a bowl.

Zest a lime.

And add the fresh lime juice.

Then add the wasabi powder, soy sauce and hot sauce.  If you can't find wasabi powder, you can substitute wasabi flavored mustard or horseradish.

Whisk it all together.

Cut a ripe avocado in half lengthwise and use your knife to remove the pit.

Take a spoon and run it around the edges of the flesh to loosen the peel.

Scoop out the flesh and cut it into bite size pieces.

Add it to the bowl with the dressing and toss it well.  Tossing the avocado in the dressing before adding the other ingredients allows it to become coated with the lime juice which keeps it from turning brown.

Dice some red onion.

And add it to the bowl, along with scallions and sesame seeds.  You can toast the sesame seeds in the same hot skillet you used to cook the tuna for more flavor.  I forgot to do this today : /  Even untoasted, they still add a nice texture to the salad.

Finally, add the tuna.

And toss it all together.  Serve quickly, before the avocado browns and the acid in the lime cooks the tuna.  This is NOT a make-ahead salad.

WOOOOOoooo!  This dish has kick-you-in-the-face flavor!! Serve it on sandwich rolls, a bed of arugula or by itself garnished with a few extra scallions.  Happy lunching :)

Link to the printable recipe:

Ahi Tuna Salad

Source:  Barefoot Contessa