Ghosts of tuna past (more appetizing than it sounds)

This recipe is a little reminder of summer for all my snow-bound friends. Heck, it’s even been a little wintry here in southern California. By “wintry” I mean a little rainy and below 60 some days. Please don’t throw snow at your computer screen.

 

A few months back, a co-worker wrangled this tuna off the California coast, and I ran home and cooked it ASAP. Fresh tuna deserves to go from ocean to stomach with as little cooking as possible in between. I am not brave enough to prepare my own fish completely raw, however, so pan-seared was the way to go. Fresh caught fish is an occasion at the Walton household, so I bought some of these decorative-looking mini mixed greens from Trader Joe’s that always remind me a little of alfalfa. Turns out they’re not just pretty, but yummy, too. I seared the tuna and made some pickles to top it with rice vinegar, as well as a little horseradish sauce I made. (Trader Joe’s didn’t have wasabi, which probably would have been better.)

 

Pickles

1 cucumber, cut in small cubes or slices

1 very small red onion, or 1/2 a medium red onion, chopped in small pieces

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

 

Mix ingredients in a metal or ceramic bowl. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. (I just whipped this up and stuck it in the fridge the night before.)

 

Sauce

1/4 cup mayonnaise (I can’t eat eggs, so I use vegan mayo, which is better than the real store-bought stuff IMHO)

1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon hot chili sauce (I prefer Sri Racha, but I’m sure Tabasco would do)

2 tablespoons horseradish

1 tablespoon lemon juice

 

Tuna

Tuna

Sesame seed oil

 

Pat the tuna dry and sprinkle with pepper. Heat a skillet over medium high. Add the oil, then the tuna. Cook the tuna on each side until it is golden—usually under a minute.

 

Serve tuna topped with pickles and horseradish sauce.

Comments

[Miranda]

YUM! Looks and sounds delicious!!