by Tierney O'Hara

Created on: September 13, 2009   Last Updated: November 08, 2009

There's something surprising about a chilled tuna salad that packs a hot, peppery, spicy punch. We usually don't expect tuna salad to taste like anything more than tuna, mayo and some minced celery. Red onion or capers are a rare treat in tuna salads one might get from a restaurant, but a hot, spicy tuna salad is hard to find.

The simplest way to spice up everyday tuna salad is to add cracked, black pepper into the salad. It's amazing what a sprinkle of pepper does to zip up the total flavor of the tuna salad. If you are looking for more heat and more pizazz in your tuna salad, here are two recipes from mildly hot to super hot that turn canned tuna into something divine.

Icy-Cold Spicy-Hot Tuna Salad

Ingredients

2 cans white albacore tuna

3-4 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

3 radishes chopped fine

1/4 onion chopped fine

1 stalk celery chopped fine

1 garlic clove grated or minced

1/4 teaspoon Cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon grated lemon rind

Mix all the ingredients together and chill for at least two hours. Serve on a bed of lettuce or on bread or crackers.

If you want a spicier tuna salad, try:

"One Hot Tomato" Tuna Salad

Ingredients

2 cans white albacore tuna

3-4 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

1 teaspoon prepared horseradish

1 tablespoon diced jalapeno pepper

1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 lime juiced

6 medium-sized ripe tomatoes

Scoop out the insides of 6 medium-sized ripe tomatoes. Salt and pepper the inside of each tomato. Mix the rest of the ingredients until well blended. Spoon the tuna salad into the tomato and continue to fill the tomatoes until they have a rounded dome of tuna salad on top. Chill and serve as a main course or a side dish.

Option: Chop fresh chives, mint and parsley and sprinkle on the top.

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