SUMMER SEAFOOD
Trip the light fantastic with these delicious dishes
Hopefully you’re getting out on your boat or have a friend who’s generous with their catch, dropping some off to you (and of course it’s filleted as well). The key when cooking tuna is getting it out of the fridge, cutting it into steaks and letting it come to room temperature before searing it on the barbecue. For perfect tuna steaks cook them until just warm in the middle, anything more will result in dry tuna. That said, however, I’m cooking the tuna a little differently here.
Summertime Ceviche
Tuna, snapper and trevally are fantastic fish to marinate — any of these will do justice to this dish.
Serves: 4 Prep time: 30 mins (plus marinating time — one hour)
300g fish fillets (such as trevally, tarakihi, tuna or snapper)
Juice of 3 large limes
1 tsp salt flakes
250ml coconut cream
¼ onion — very finely chopped or minced
1 green chilli, finely chopped
8 lettuce leaves, to serve
Red chilli slices, to serve Coriander leaves, to serve
1 Cut the fish into small bite-size pieces and place in a glass or plastic bowl.
2 Add the lime juice, salt, coconut cream, onion, and the chilli to your taste. Mix well, cover and leave to marinate in refrigerator for 1 hour, or longer if possible.
3 Just before serving arrange the lettuce leaves on a platter.
4 Divide the marinated fish into the lettuce leaves and garnish with red chilli slices.
Sesame-Crusted Tuna
I tasted orange balsamic vinegar in Italy and oh my . . . seriously, one teaspoon transforms this dish but if you can’t get hold of any of the vinegar, use the cucumber marinading liquid in it’s place.
Serves: 4 Prep time: 30 mins Cook time: 10 mins
⅓ cup water
⅓ cup cider vinegar
2 Tbsp honey
Zest of an orange
1 long cucumber 400g tuna
2 Tbsp white sesame seeds
1 Tbsp black sesame seeds
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ rock melon
4 bocconcini balls
Orange balsamic vinegar to serve
1 In a small pot bring the water and cider vinegar to the boil, remove from the heat add the honey and orange zest and set aside to cool. 2 Using a potato peeler slice thin strips of cucumber (avoiding the seeds), place in a bowl and pour over the honey cider vinegar, cover and refrigerate preferably overnight.
3 To prepare the tuna, combine the sesame seeds in a small tray, roll the log of tuna in the seeds to coat.
4 Take a heavy fry pan and heat the olive oil, sear the tuna on all sides, remove and wrap tightly in cling film.
5. Thinly slice the melon, like prosciutto, and the bocconcini balls into four.
6 Carefully slice the tuna as thin as you can.
7 Take four plates, lay the melon down first, tuck pieces of tuna into the melon, then place the bocconcini on top.
8 Drain the cucumber (reserve the liquid), take the slices and roll into tubes then place on the plate next.
9 Drizzle over a few drops of the orange balsamic on each plate (or the marinating liquid).