Tostadas de Atun (Tuna Tostadas), an UnRecipe Recipe

I had a bit of a debate with myself about posting this dish. I mean, it's tuna and a bunch of other stuff on a tostada. Nothing gets cooked. Pretty basic stuff. Tasty to be sure -  but worth blogging about?

Then again ...  things like boxed cake mix, Cool Whip-based desserts, and Jello pudding with a handful of raisins tossed in seem to count as recipes - so why not a tuna tostada?  It's so very Sandra Lee.

Don't get me wrong: I'm not claiming I make a homemade meal from scratch every single night - not by a long shot. The occasional sandwich, grilled sausage, or canned soup is certainly served at Casa de Trix. But when I put a little extra somethin' somethin'  into, say, a sauce I bought at the grocery store, I don't particularly feel compelled to tell you about it.  (Of course the exception proves the rule, like this fabulous doctored cake mix post by my friend Trevor. But then, most people can't pull this off with such aplomb.)

Truth be told, I did write about some rather questionable things early on in the life of this blog, so I'm not complaining about anything I haven't been guilty of myself. But I have tried to make amends. (As an aside, I am thinking of changing the name of this blog from "Tasty Trix" to "Cranky Trix." Thoughts?)

That said, make of this non recipe what you will, and feel free to mock me in the comments. I can take it. In its defense, it involves chopping things up with a knife.

And it's pretty, and pretty can get away with anything, right?

I had the prototype at Cantina La Mascota in Mexico City:

I actually hadn't enjoyed tuna salad in exactly this way before - it's light and herby, and it doesn't feel heavy, as it's dairy-free - so perhaps this post is a little bit useful after all?

I try.

I added a lovely layer of guacamole - not only did this give a  flavor boost to this dish, it solved the problem of the tuna falling off of the tostada. Mmm, guacamole glue.

Given that this is an unrecipe, I won't bother giving you amounts - just eyeball it. The key thing here is that you must - must! - use oil packed tuna, not that dreadful bland water packed stuff.

 For the tuna: 2 cans oils packed (such as Genova or Cento), 1 cup of halved grape tomatoes, a bunch of chopped chives and/or the greens from spring onions, minced red onion, a healthy handful of chopped cilantro, salt and pepper and lots of fresh key lime juice. Lots and lots. That's key. Basically, you almost want more "stuff" than tuna.

For the guacamole, I kept it simple -  2 avocados, one minced jalapeno, a drizzle of olive oil, a bit of cilantro, salt, pepper, and more of that lime juice. I also rubbed the bowl I mixed it in with a smashed garlic clove.

I won't insult your intelligence by explaining to you how to assemble it ... pretty straightforward, yes?

This really is greater than the sum of its parts, and just the thing for a summer lunch. Next time, though ... I think I'll post a real recipe.