Cut about two pounds of fresh tuna into one-inch-thick steaks, dredge in olive oil, salt and fresh ground pepper and grill or sear on both sides, until well marked or browned (figure maybe three minutes per side on high heat). If you're not a fan of rare tuna, cook to desired doneness and set aside to cool.

Make a dressing out of two or three shots of vinegar mixed with one heaping plop of Dijon mustard, one clove of minced garlic, one heaping plop of chopped capers and salt and pepper to taste. Slowly whisk in two to three shots of olive oil. To serve, lay a bed of Boston or Bibb lettuce torn into bite-size pieces on a platter. Top with generous amounts of steamed string beans, sliced plum tomatoes, thin slices of red onion, hard-boiled eggs cut into wedges, boiled potatoes cut into slices or wedges (I like to leave the skin on), more capers, roasted red pepper slivers and the tuna.

I like to cut the tuna into thin slices, but you can try chunks or cubes, too. Drizzle your dressing over the whole shebang, and garnish with lots of Calamata olives.

More Than a Greek Salad

Mix torn romaine lettuce, baby spinach, arugula, black olives, thin-sliced shallots, julienned bell pepper, cucumber slices and cherry tomatoes (halved) in a big bowl. Make a dressing out of one small plop of anchovy paste, one heaping plop of spicy mustard, one smidgen of minced garlic, about four good drizzles of fresh lemon juice, plus a few good drizzles of champagne vinegar and maybe twice as much olive oil as lemon and vinegar.

Season the dressing with fresh oregano, salt and fresh ground pepper. Toss salad with dressing and top with tons of feta cheese and more black pepper. I like to make nice, oval croutons out of baguette slices toasted in olive oil and garlic and throw them on top, too. Some folks like to add anchovy filets, but none for me, thanks.

Crazy Catsup Dressing
Mix equal parts balsamic vinegar to olive oil, then whisk in a few plops of catsup. Season with salt and pepper and sweeten with a touch of honey. This is pretty darn close to the great dressing you get in old-fashioned Spanish restaurants…at least the ones I go to. If you're really inspired, you can add a little chopped rosemary, but this dressing is great as-is. I like it poured over a simple salad of lettuce, tomato and red onion, but it's pretty good over almost anything. Except your shoes, of course.

Great Miso Dressing

Pureé one plop of red miso, two cloves of garlic, one smidgen of fresh ginger, two scallions, about a coffee cup of rice wine vinegar and three drizzles of soy sauce. With machine running, drizzle in about as much olive oil as you had vinegar. This keeps forever and is great on salad, fish and almost any steamed vegetable.

Well, my little peppercorns, there you have it; one small step for salad, one giant step toward fitting into that bikini come summertime!