Seared tuna recipe from the inclusive world of Dame Fandango

meat and fish | seared tuna with sun blush tomato and olive dressing

Serves 2

This is a very rich and healthy dish. I tend to say 2 portions, simply because I find I am not particularly good at trying to coordinate cooking more than 2 tuna steaks on my tiny griddle - if you were doing this on a barbecue, with more space, you'd have no trouble cooking more. Similarly, if you decide to grill the tuna, you can do more at a time too - although I must admit, I tend to cook this outside - mostly because the smell seems to last for days. Freshly cooked fish smell is fantastic - but 3 days later it's not so great!

Wheat free, dairy free, nut free version...

Ingredients...

2 tuna steaks
3 medium sized vine tomatoes (or equivalent other tomatoes) cut into eighths or a strip of tomatoes on the vine, cut into two.
1 tbsp oil
1 dessert spoon oil
Tip tsp English mustard
A squeeze lemon juice
1 generous handful of rocket, rinsed
1 generous tbsp sun blush tomatoes, chopped
1 generous tbsp black pitted olives, halved
1 dessert spoon white wine vinegar

Optional:

4 leaves lollo rosso lettuce (or another lettuce), rinsed and shredded.

Method...

Heat the oven to 170ºC
Roast the vine tomatoes in the tbsp oil for 25 minutes.
Whilst that is roasting, make the dressing by putting the sun blush tomatoes, olives, dessert spoon oil, vinegar, mustard and lemon juice into something like an old sundried tomato jar and give it a good old shake.
Approximately 10 minutes before tomatoes have finished, start getting ready to sear the tuna on a griddle or in a pan - sear 3-5 mins per side.
Serve the tuna on a bed of the rocket and/or lettuce, either with the roasted tomato wedges arranged around the side or, if you're using the vine tomato strip, then serve it at the side.
Pour any excess oil and juice from the roast tomato tin into the dressing pot, give one last good shake and drizzle on top of the tuna steaks.

Maybe serve with...

I tend to serve this just as it is. You might like a wheat free baguette baked and served alongside it. Equally, you could cook the tuna and flake it through rice, then add the olives/tomatoes and dressing if you wanted to make it stretch further.

For those able to eat dairy ...

Maybe use a little butter mixed with oil to sear the tuna steaks, to give it more colour.

For those able to eat wheat...

Crusty bread works well with this dish, to dip in the juices.

If you have leftover tuna, add cubes to the Mediterranean skewers. If you have leftover olives, add them to quick fling pasta. If you have sunblush tomatoes, add them to simple ratatouille, Scarlett's secret sauce, mushroom provençal, inside out cannelloni or sublime tomato soup.

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