Fresh vegetables, ingredients, and seafood combine in this stress-free recipe in two acts that emphasizes bold flavors and involves almost no cooking.
Tonno alla Siciliana (Tuna steaks Sicilian-style)
ingredients:
2 ahi or sashimi grade tuna steaks (approx. 2 lbs.)
4-6 good summer tomatos (jersey tomatos suggested)
1/2 cup pitted and roughly chopped kalamata olives
2-4 sprigs fresh mint
a small handful of parsley
one lemon
good italian olive oil
pepperoncino (chili flakes), salt & pepper
Act I - make the salsa cruda:
roughly chop tomatos into nice large cubes and layer into medium glass bowl w/juice
(N.B. the goal with this dish is not perfection, but rather il sapore del paese, a taste of the country. all chopped ingredients should be large enough to see and identify with the naked eye.) Lightly salt the tomatoes and let weep in the bowl.
Meanwhile, roughly chop the parsley and mint until the herb mix is unified (most of my
instructions for this dish include the word "roughly" - keep in mind, this is
an expressive dish). After a sufficient amount of liquid has accrued in the bottom of the bowl,
add the herb mix and the kalamatas and mix together gently.
Add the juice of half the lemon to the tomato-kalamata mixture and stir.
set other lemon half aside (quartered, it will serve as a table accoutrement). Next, add
a generous amount of olive oil (2-3 tblspns), and pepperoncino.
Set salsa cruda aside and let ingredients macerate for at least half an hour.
Act II - Searing the tuna
coat tuna steaks on both sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Brush a light layer of olive oil on both sides.
on high heat, heat a medium skillet (no extra oil required).
When the skillet is hot, add the tuna, one steak at a time (you should hear a nice sizzle). Depending on the thickness of the fish, searing each side should take less than 2 minutes per side, but keep an eye on the fish.
Finally, plate seared tuna steaks and add a generous amount of
the salsa cruda on top of the fish.
serves 2
pairs well with Sicilian white wines, such as the Inzolia variety
Tonno alla Siciliana (Tuna steaks Sicilian-style)
ingredients:
2 ahi or sashimi grade tuna steaks (approx. 2 lbs.)
4-6 good summer tomatos (jersey tomatos suggested)
1/2 cup pitted and roughly chopped kalamata olives
2-4 sprigs fresh mint
a small handful of parsley
one lemon
good italian olive oil
pepperoncino (chili flakes), salt & pepper
Act I - make the salsa cruda:
roughly chop tomatos into nice large cubes and layer into medium glass bowl w/juice
(N.B. the goal with this dish is not perfection, but rather il sapore del paese, a taste of the country. all chopped ingredients should be large enough to see and identify with the naked eye.) Lightly salt the tomatoes and let weep in the bowl.
Meanwhile, roughly chop the parsley and mint until the herb mix is unified (most of my
instructions for this dish include the word "roughly" - keep in mind, this is
an expressive dish). After a sufficient amount of liquid has accrued in the bottom of the bowl,
add the herb mix and the kalamatas and mix together gently.
Add the juice of half the lemon to the tomato-kalamata mixture and stir.
set other lemon half aside (quartered, it will serve as a table accoutrement). Next, add
a generous amount of olive oil (2-3 tblspns), and pepperoncino.
Set salsa cruda aside and let ingredients macerate for at least half an hour.
Act II - Searing the tuna
coat tuna steaks on both sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Brush a light layer of olive oil on both sides.
on high heat, heat a medium skillet (no extra oil required).
When the skillet is hot, add the tuna, one steak at a time (you should hear a nice sizzle). Depending on the thickness of the fish, searing each side should take less than 2 minutes per side, but keep an eye on the fish.
Finally, plate seared tuna steaks and add a generous amount of
the salsa cruda on top of the fish.
serves 2
pairs well with Sicilian white wines, such as the Inzolia variety
yes!!!
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