This is more of an indulgent Summer salad, but it is light and fresh and depending on your mood, good for all year round. It can be difficult to cook Tuna, and it really depends on your tastes to how long or short your cook it for. I love fresh tuna, and the trick for cooking the tuna in this recipe is high heat at first, then baste. And yes, you normal baste roasted food, but I saw Gordon Ramsay once basting a steak with it’s own sauce when he was frying it and the logic hit me. It will not only keep the flavouring coated on it, but also the hot juices will help to cook the top better. Genuis! I also prefer to have my outside cooked and not so much in the middle – not raw per se, but on the verge.
You don’t have to have the salad with it, but it really does go nice. These steaks also go well with a green leaf salad if you want to be REALLY low-calorie. It does bring down the prep time quite a bit if you do a green leaf salad with the toasted pine nuts. It is also very quick for an easy meal for one or two people. Do remember that it is an oil-free salad dressing so don’t get carried away. There is enough flavour and juices that you don’t need extra dressing.
Pro tip: Toast the pine nuts and garlic in the same pan that you will cook the tuna in, just do it first and let cool.
Tuna steaks
Calories per serving: 94
Tomato and feta salad
Calories per serving: 191
Tuna Steaks
Ingredients
- 1 steak per person (this recipe is for 2 but if you need more go ahead)
- 2 cloves garlic in slices
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/2 lemon
- Splash white wine (I get the small bottles for this recipe and won't use the whole thing)
- Fresh cracked pepper
- Salt to taste
Directions
- Step 1 Melt the butter in a frying pan for the 2 steaks. Add the garlic and cook till soft. Crank up the heat to about medium high and add the tuna steaks.
- Step 2 Salt and pepper each side as you cook it. Be mindful of the butter burning so turn it down if it gets too hot.
- Step 3 Sear the outside of the steaks and turn. About 2 mins per side. Add “enough” lemon juice. I.e I will hand squeeze in the 1/2 lemon. And add enough white wine for it to boil down.
- Step 4 Then while it is cooking you can baste the tuna with the juice constantly. Flip over and do the other side until it looks good. Don’t over do it. Basically. If you get nervous that it is under done and they have been on for 5 mins. Take them off. Serve with the juice.
Tomato and feta salad
Ingredients
- The amounts here are approximations. Essentially, you are looking for the amounts that you and your guest will want to eat. I.e. if you think my salad looks like a bit much, add less of everything.
- 3/4 package of feta. Don't go nuts this is the normal package size. And also don't crumble, chop it is in to chunks.
- Enough plum tomatoes. I don't know you. I don't know your love of plum tomatoes. It is usually less than a package for me.
- 3 cloves garlic (sliced - not chopped or diced. You want chunks of this bad boy) I do suggest that you add more. There is never too much garlic in this world and the cooking process for the garlic really leaves it a great texture
- 2 to 3 tbsp raw pine nuts. Don't get toasted pine nuts, you want to do this yourself. Or if you don’t want to do this yourself, get toasted pine nuts
- 5 leaves of fresh mint
- Pomegranate molasses
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Step 1 In a clean dry pan (as mentioned above – maybe look to the tuna steak pan? only saying, just less clean up). Add the pine nuts and toast them on medium heat. I.e. Keep them in the pan. Move them around until they are lightly golden brown. Leave them every so often, but do not stop stirring them around, you want to toast all sides, not have a burnt side and a raw side. As well, toasting pine nuts is like popping popcorn, it goes REALLY slowly at first, and then you are done. So keep a close eye on it because good pine nuts really make this dish. Remove them from the heat and put to the side.
- Step 2 In said same pan – add the sliced garlic and toast them until they are caramelised. Basically you want crunchy gorgeous bits of garlic (see above for the method – however, you have a bit more leniency with garlic as you only have 2 sides, so you can leave it on one side, then flip 1/2 way through, it is up to you). Remove from heat and put aside.
- Step 3 Chop the tomatoes and feta into a salad bowl. Add salt and pepper. Chop mint and add. Add the garlic and pine nuts. Add the pomegranate and toss. Boom! Done. Do not add oil, you have enough juices and flavours in there.
