Golden breaded tuna
‘Milanese has been one of my favourite things to eat ever since I was a kid. This version is really breaking the rules but on the islands it’s all about fish, so I wanted to recreate that Milanese vibe, teaming a super-simple yet flavour-packed pasta with a beautifully cooked piece of fresh tuna. With good fish, cooking it rare is delicious, but Jools prefers it cooked a bit more. Do whatever makes you happy – just don’t overcook it.’
SERVES 2 TIME 15 minutes
• 1 tablespoon baby capers in brine
• 150g dried spaghetti
• 2 x 150g super-fresh yellowfin tuna steaks (ideally 2cm thick), from sustainable sources
• 1 large free-range egg
• 50g stale sourdough breadcrumbs
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 fresh red chilli
• 3 sprigs of fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 3 sprigs of fresh mint
• 30g pecorino or Parmesan cheese
• 1 lemon
• olive oil
1 Soak the capers in a bowl of water. Cook the pasta in a pan of boiling salted water according to the packet instructions. Meanwhile, season the tuna all over with sea salt and black pepper. Whip the egg in a shallow bowl. Put the breadcrumbs on a plate. Dunk the tuna in the egg, let any excess drip off, then dip each side in the crumbs to coat. Peel the garlic and finely slice with the chilli. Pick and finely chop the herb leaves. Finely grate the pecorino, then half the lemon zest, keeping them separate.
2 Place a large and a medium frying pan on a medium-high heat. Once hot, place 1 tablespoon of oil and the breaded tuna in the medium pan, turning after 1 to 2 minutes, or when golden, then remove to a board, leaving the tuna rare throughout. Alongside, fry the garlic, chilli, drained capers and lemon zest with 1 tablespoon of oil in the large pan, stirring regularly.
3 Drain the pasta, reserving a mugful of starchy cooking water. Toss into the large pan, squeeze in half the lemon juice, and loosen with a little of the reserved cooking water. Toss in the herbs and pecorino until you get a silky, shiny sauce, loosening with more cooking water, if needed. Taste, season to perfection and promptly divide between your plates. Halve the tuna, sit it on top and serve with lemon wedges, for squeezing over.
PER SERVING: CALS 745; FAT 29.7G; SAT FAT 7.8G; PROTEIN 53.8G; CARBS 69.5G; SUGAR 3.6G; SALT 1.5G; FIBRE 2.6G
‘A simple yet flavourpacked pasta with a beautifully cooked piece of fresh tuna’