Tuna Guacamole!

Tuna Guacamole in endive leaves

Tuna Guacamole is great dish for an appetizer, snack, or impromptu little meal. I know it may sound a bit strange, but trust me, it’s yummy! And it takes less than five minutes  to make — especially if you start with a high-quality, freshly-made, store-bought guacamole.

INGREDIENTS

Freshly-made guacamole (homemade or store bought)
Canned tuna, flaked with a fork
Freshly squeezed lime juice
Thinly sliced green onions (green part only)
Chopped fresh cilantro
Fish sauce
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Leaves of Belgium endive or Butter  lettuce
Diced red onions
Diced red bell pepper

DIRECTIONS

Place the guacamole into a bowl and then mix in the tuna. Then add, according to your taste: lime juice, green onions, cilantro, fish sauce, salt, and pepper. Mix it all up; taste and adjust seasoning.

• Take a leaf of endive and partially fill it with a dollop of Tuna Gaucamole. Garnish with finely diced red onions and red bell peppers. Serve!

- OR  -

• Place a small scoop of Tuna Guacamole into leaf of Butter lettuce and top that with the red onions and red bell pepper. Wrap the lettuce around the mixture and enjoy!

FOOD SHOPPING NOTES

Tuna:  I really like the Wild Planet Wild Albacore Tuna. It’s pole-caught, high quality tuna, that is “highest in omega 3 and low in mercury.” And, it’s  canned without added oil or water in BPA-free cans! It’s a premium product for a premium price, but it’s a good value when you buy through Amazon Subscribe & Save (which is what I do)!

Fish Sauce: Tra Chang Brand Fish Sauce is my current favorite. It is made from anchovies, salt, sugar – and nothing else. I bought a 25-ounce bottle for just a few dollars at one of our local Asian supermarkets. For a side-by-side comparison of popular fish sauces, see the blog post, Thai Fish Sauce Taste Test. Note: All fish sauces are sky-high in sodium, but the Tra Chang Brand is lower in sodium than most. And, you don’t need to use a lot to get a great flavor hit!

Red Bell Pepper: Because red bell pepper is on the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen Plus list (in 2013), I only buy organic red bell peppers.

Enjoy and be healthy!
~ Leni

Crispy Seasoned Okra – a great appetizer or snack!

Okra -- ready to microwave

Okra -- ready to eat!

Okra doesn’t have to be slimy! In this fat-free recipe, the okra is crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.

Okra is available at well-stocked supermarkets and Asian markets. At Asian markets, you can also pick up besan (gram) flour. Made from ground chick peas, besan flour is a great gluten-free substitute for wheat flour when used for coating foods with seasonings. Just remember that because besan is ground up chickpeas, it naturally contains the oil of the chickpea and therefore it’s best to store besan in your freezer to maximize the shelf-life (keep the oil from going rancid).

I highly recommend you give this recipe a try! It’s delicious and easy to make!

Ingredients

14 ounces okra
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon besan flour
1 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/4 teaspoon ground corriander
1/2 – 1 teaspoon red chile powder
pinch asafoetida
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

If the glass go-round in your microwave is removable, take it out of the microwave, clean it (if needed), and place it on the kitchen counter. If the go-round is not removable, find a large, microwave-safe plate; set it aside.

Rinse the okra; do not dry. (The water clinging to the okra after rinsing, helps the seasonings stick.)

Cut almost all of the stem off each piece of okra and then slit each piece of okra in half, lengthwise; set okra pieces aside.

Into a large bowl, place remaining ingredients – the seasonings. Mix the seasonings with your hands (be sure that your hands are dry) until well mixed. Add reserved okra and, using your hands, mix the okra around so that it gets evenly coated with seasonings.

Place seasoned okra directly on the microwave go-round (or large microwave-safe plate), with cut end facing up and stem end facing out. Scrape the last bits of seasoning out of the bowl and scatter the remaining seasoning over the okra.

Place okra-filled microwave go-round (or plate) back into microwave oven. Heat on high for 8 minutes.  Check for doneness — which in this case means crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. It will probably need another 2-4 minutes, depending on your microwave.

BE CAREFUL: The microwave go-round gets hot!

Enjoy and be healthy!

~Leni