The OOOOO Salad (as in Obsession)

Now that my tomato pie eating days are behind me I have a new food obsession. Created completely by accident but born out of necessity, my OCD now has me on a Tuna and Manchego Salad with a Lemon-Ginger Vinaigrette kick.  Oh yeah baby ~ you heard me right!

Here’s how it happened…I had this beautiful hunka-hunka Manchego cheese burnin' a hole in my refrigerator. Other than the to-die-for-Manchego-chiptole mashed potatoes that I made a week or so ago, I hadn’t really been doing anything with it, unless you count trying to cut the end of my finger off, while I sliced myself a piece for breakfast. That’s the accident part.

Ok, so that's not really my finger, but my cut was almost as bad as that. Just look at the picture below and you will see what I mean. It was taken when the cut was about 4 days old, so it looks pretty minor now, but really...it was a BIG DEAL. I bled like a stuck hog and had to cut off that big flap of skin with my bangs cutting scissors. 

Back to the salad...

So most nights when The Big Guy is out of town I just just fix myself something simple, like beef Wellington or salmon in papillote. (see the FAQ’s)  The necessity part is that I needed to use up that chunk of cheese before it turned green.

So here's what I did...drizzed some lemon-ginger olive oil over a piece of ahi tuna, then pressed some sesame seeds on to it. Doesn't everyone have lemon-ginger olive oil on hand? I thought so. It’s also the base for the vinaigrette unless you don’t have it, then you go to plan B, which is olive oil, fresh minced ginger and lemon juice. By the way, this is a great brand and there are lots of delicious oils to choose from. You should check it out, even though I get no kickback whatsoever.

 
Stay with me.  Sear the sesame coated tuna while you are grating the Manchego or opening the wine, then set it aside to rest a bit before slicing it. Meanwhile, put the salad together.

     Here's where the fireworks come in. From the salty kalamata olives, briny capers, and nutty-ness of the browned sesame seeds, to the buttery-earthy Manchego, and the meaty seared tuna, to the tart lemon and the bite of ginger, this salad is simple, but loaded with flavor.  Seriously...your mouth will be screaming OOOOO and your tongue will be begging for more.  
  

 

Go to the “Soups-Salads-Sides” tab at the top of this page to see how it all comes together.