Seared tuna with herb dipping sauce
Like quality beef steaks, tuna steaks are a real treat – provided you don’t overcook them as they will then taste like tinned fish! The goal is a crispy brown outer layer with melt-in-the-mouth flesh inside.
Serves 4 as a starter Preparation: 20 minutes Cooking time: 5 minutes
• 400g tuna steak (fresh, or freshly frozen and thawed; see box)
• 30ml sesame oil
• salt and pepper, and a sprinkling of sesame seeds
• ½ a cucumber, thinly sliced
HERB SAUCE
• 250ml flat-leaf parsley (stems and leaves)
• 125ml fresh coriander (stems and leaves)
• 30ml fresh dill
• 1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
• 30ml red wine vinegar
• 30ml fresh lemon or lime juice • 60–125ml olive oil
• ½ a small red onion, very finely chopped • 1 red chilli, finely chopped
1 Make the dipping sauce Place the herbs, garlic, vinegar and lemon juice in a measuring jug and blend with a stick blender. Add as much olive oil as required. Add the onion and the chilli and season with sea salt flakes and black pepper to taste. You can also blend all the ingredients together, but I prefer a slightly coarser texture. Taste and add extra vinegar, citrus or chilli if necessary. It should have a bit of a lemon kick. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
2 Rub the tuna all over with sesame oil and season lightly with salt and pepper.
Tip If you have one large, thick tuna steak, first cut it into 3cm-wide pieces with a sharp knife so that it can be seared on all sides before you cut it into smaller pieces for serving. It’s just easier to judge the ratio of seared outer layer to soft inner flesh on a smaller piece of fish.
3 Heat a heavy-bottomed pan until hot. Place the fish in the pan and sear the first side for a minute or two; turn onto the next side and sear for the same amount of time. Repeat until all the sides are golden-brown and the insides are pink.
4 Sprinkle the sesame seeds over the fish. Remove the fish from the pan and let it rest on a chopping board for a short while.
Using a sharp knife, cut the tuna into thin slices. Arrange on a serving platter with the cucumber slices; drizzle with some of the herb sauce and serve the rest in a bowl as a dipping sauce. Serve at room temperature.