Okay, so this one was hard to name. Every title I came up with made it sound… well… simplistic. The ingredients and preparation are both simple, but this belies its tastiness. If you think I’m crazy for calling cooked tuna tasty, I feel your pain. At most restaurants it’s either lightly seared (at which point you’re basically eating sashimi), or it’s cooked all the way making it a hard puck that both looks and tastes a bit like cardboard.
Let me assure you that there is a middle ground. One that makes for a delightfully melt-in-your-mouth tender, juicy steak that’s more beef-like than any other kind of fish I can think of. The trick is in marinating it in an ample amount of olive oil, then cooking it through until the middle 1/3 is a nice pink.
As with all simple dishes, the quality of the ingredients is paramount for good results. The tuna should be glistening, firm and not smell the vest bit fishy (dried out, mushy or stinky are not words that should come to mind when you’re picking out any fish). I used asparagus and baby carrots which just came into season. I also took advantage of the carrot leaves for their flavor, but you could just as easily use fennel bulbs and leaves or some other fragrant vegetable that’s in season.
Units
Ingredients
For tuna
- 2 tuna steaks (~200 grams each)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lemon zest peeled in strips
- ground black pepper (to taste)
- Kosher salt (to taste)
For roast veggies
- 4 baby carrots (with leaves, chopped)
- 3 baby fingerling potatoes
- 6 cloves garlic peeled
- 4 stalks asparagus
- olive oil
- Kosher salt
- black pepper fresh ground
For serving
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Place the Tuna steaks on a plate and drizzle a good helping of olive oil on them flipping a few times to make sure they are well coated. Sprinkle with black pepper then rub the cut side of the lemon zest into the steaks (do not salt them yet).
- Heat the oven to 400 degrees F and prep the veggies. For the carrots, make one cut at a 45 degree angle, then roll it 1/4 turn away from you then make another cut at the same angle. I'm not sure what this cut is called but it's great because it makes all the pieces of the carrot roughly the same thickness (which you control by how far apart you cut) so they cook evenly. I used a variety of long skinny potatoes and cut them up the same way. Then just toss the carrots, potatoes, and garlic in a good amount of olive oil, salt and pepper. Put this in the oven for about 40 minutes or until the potatoes are almost done.
- Add the asparagus and carrot leaves, toss adding more olive oil if it looks like it needs it then put it back in the oven.
- Now it's time to cook the steaks. Heat a heavy bottomed stainless steel or cast iron pan over medium heat until very hot. Remove the lemon zest and discard. Flip the steaks over a few times to make sure they're well coated in oil then sprinkle with kosher salt on both sides. Place the steaks in the hot pan and do not disturb them until they are ready to flip. You'll know they're ready when the bottom third of the steak is brown (the top 2/3's will be red). If the pan was hot enough and they're ready to flip, they should be fairly easy to dislodge and turn with some tongs, but if they are sticking use a spatula. Cook this side until the bottom 1/3 is brown (now the bottom and top thirds should be brown and the middle 1/3 should be pink, not red).
- Take the veggies out of the oven after flipping the tuna and plate the veggies. When the tuna is done, put them on top of the veggies right away so they don't overcook. Drizzle 1 tsp of lemon juice and 1 tsp of olive oil on each steak and serve immediately.
Marc Matsumoto says
Thanks Peter and Gloria.
Barb, I have the same problem when I go down my list of blogs at 1 am. Sometimes it’s even resulted in a 4th meal;-)
Ari, hope you like it, let us know how it goes.
Laura, I know exactly what you mean, sometimes it’s hard to choose which way to go.
Nina, you’re so lucky!
Jerry says
You keep me salvating. I just might move in!
Kevin (Closet Cooking) says
Now I am seriously craving a tuna steak!
MedMunky says
I made this dish tonight. It was a hit! Thanks a lot for sharing a wonderfully simple yet elegant meal.
MedMunky says
I made this dish tonight. It was a hit! Thanks a lot for sharing a wonderfully simple yet elegant meal.
Koral says
This was so good! a great idea for the potatoes and veggies all mixed in. Healthy and scrumptious. I didn’t have a lemon so I used lemon seasoning and it was to die for. I got three thumbs up. According to my bodybugg this meal was about 650 calories. I had a .47lb tuna, which was 213.1 grams at 418 calories. and the veggies in oil did the rest. GREAT MEAL!
Koral says
This was so good! a great idea for the potatoes and veggies all mixed in. Healthy and scrumptious. I didn't have a lemon so I used lemon seasoning and it was to die for. I got three thumbs up. According to my bodybugg this meal was about 650 calories. I had a .47lb tuna, which was 213.1 grams at 418 calories. and the veggies in oil did the rest. GREAT MEAL!
armedjester says
Marc, I just ate this! It’s perfect! Perfect! Your preparation pays all the respect a good tuna deserves! Thank you.
armedjester says
F1! Halp! I want to make this again and I know it will be perfect. But. Some of the guests I will have on New Year’s Day demand rice with this. Which is o.k. but in itself calls for some kind of sauce or something … I searched the INet but nothing appeals (they all make some kind of white sauce consisting more or less of flour and lemon). Do you have any idea what I could do? Pretty please …
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Armedjester, perhaps you could do a garlic fried rice, that way you don’t have to worry about making a sauce, and I think it will compliment the tuna steaks nicely. Just heat some butter in a pan, add lots of chopped garlic and brown, add the rice and break up any clumps, coating with the garlic butter, then salt and pepper to taste.
armedjester says
Hi Marc! That was the most brilliant idea I read in a long time! They loved it and it was superb and -like you said- compliments the tuna nicely. Thanks for your help. You are a genius.
Tim Etler says
I made this and it came out really good! Tasted almost like steak. Only issue was that a lot of fat came out as it cooked and was kinda messy. Is that normal or did I use too high heat?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Tim, I’m glad to hear you enjoyed this! Did the fat come out of the tuna? If so it’s possible you had a fatty cut from near the belly which will release a lot of fat as it cooks. This makes it moist and tender, but if you want something less messy you can look for a leaner cut of tuna next time.