by Jay Moonah

Tuna salad isn't very rock'n'roll. It isn't very reggae either. In fact, the only form of music that a traditional tuna salad sandwich might be able to qualify for could be light jazz. So, when it came time to prepare myself a meal from the two small fish-filled tins I had purchased from my local Colossal-Mart, I couldn't face the prospect of consuming it with my pre-selected soundtrack of Bob Marley (perfect for an unseasonably hot spring day.) That was, until I spotted the bottle of jerk sauce I just happened to have in my fridge.

Jerk, as you probably know, is not just a pejorative for the guy who stole your prime parking spot on Queen West, it is also a spice treatment usually associated with Jamaican cuisine. It's usually used with cooked meat, but there's no law saying you can't use jerk seasoning to kick up a tuna salad sandwich - at least not in this country there isn't, gawddamnit! The pre-made jerk sauce I have on hand has includes scallions, scotch bonnet peppers, salt, black pepper, allspice, nutmeg, lime juice, sugar & thyme. If you're really hardcore you could probably make this up yourself, I've never bothered myself. Now as you might guess, with scotch bonnet as the second ingredient this stuff packs a bit of punch. Not overpowering as a pure hot sauce, but you can definitely taste the heat.

Usually tuna salad has some celery to add a little crunch. In keeping with the theme, I'll replace that with bell peppers -- they taste better anyway. I go with one decent sized pepper per can of tuna added, so in this case two peppers to match my two cans. I like to mix red and green for contrast, but any colour peppers will do. Crop these up, and add with the tuna a bowl for mixing. Next add in some mayo, generally about
a tablespoon or a spoon-and-a-half per can of tuna is what I'd recommend. You can go with more if you like it extra creamy. Next the jerk sauce. This you should do totally to taste, especially since every sauce is gonna be a little different in terms of flavour and heat. Jerk is a strong flavour, I'd start with about two tea spoons, mix it up,
have a taste, add as you like.

Once you mix it all together, you'll have enough tuna salad for about 4-6 sandwiches, depending on how big you like 'em. Or you can in a nice wrap, pour yourself a tall cold rum and mix, throw on your favorite Wailer's disc, and you be jammin'.

Bon appetite!