Mediterranean Tuna & Potato Salad

For all of us Catholics out there...this past Wednesday was Ash Wednesday.  This is the start of Lent for us, which means it is time to dig out all of our "non-meat" recipes.  Catholics are also supposed to fast or eat very little on Ash Wednesday.  I decided to make a light salad that combined romaine lettuce, tuna fish, boiled new potatoes, artichoke hearts and other great ingredients all combined with a dijon mustard and lemon vinegarette.  This is a great salad!  It is so light and tasty and the ingredients all come together nicely. Even if you are not Catholic this is must try salad that will be different than all the rest!



MEDITERRANEAN TUNA & POTATO SALAD

For Salad:

• 2 heads romaine lettuce chopped
• 1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes halved
• 6 red potatoes - boiled, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
• 1/2 cup kalamata olives - pitted
• 12 oz. jar quartered artichoke hearts
• 1 cup chopped cucumbers
• 1 can light tuna packed in water
• 2 TB. chopped fresh basil
• 1 TB. chopped red onion

For Dressing:

• 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
• 1 TB. dijon mustard
• 3 TB. parmesan cheese
• 2 TB. white wine vinegar
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and oregano to taste

Preparation of Salad:

1. Place romaine lettuce in a large serving bowl.
2. Place the tomatoes, potatoes, olives, artichoke hearts, cucumbers, and tuna in seperate pie shaped sections on top of the lettuce.
3. Sprinkle the top of salad with chopped basil and red onion.
4. Drizzle salad with Dijon Mustard & Lemon Vinegarette (see recipe below)

Preparation of Dijon Mustard & Lemon Vinegarette:

1. Place the first five ingredients in a bowl and whisk together.
2. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil and whisk quickly.
3. Add salt, pepper, crushed red pepper and oregano; whisk together.
4. Serve over Mediterranean Tuna & Potatoe Salad