Every once in a while, I treat myself with a special dish. This time I prepared sesame seared tuna. Tuna is just amazing! It has a dark, red-pink, silky and firm flesh which looks more like meat than fish. However, it’s a fish! Even though it doesn’t smell like fish at all. Hehehe. Most of the times it is considered a delicacy, but that doesn’t make it impossible for you to prepare it and enjoy it at home, too.
It can be also a great source of omega-3 fatty acids and proteins when consumed fresh. So, make sure you buy a very fresh tuna. Tuna steaks should be thick and firm. And after you put them on a grill they’ll transform in this unbelievable tender, mouth-melting bites. Delicious!
Anyway, I didn’t stop at tuna. Along with it, I prepared some simple but colourful vegetables and a homemade Aioli sauce.
Since grilling a tuna doesn’t require much time (in fact you have to be really quick not to overcook it) and skills, it’s perfect either for a weeknight meal or for a special occasion.
Ingredients for two serving portions of sesame seared tuna:
- 2 x 100g tuna steak
- olive oil
- 3-4 Tbsp sesame seeds
- 2 carrots
- 1 zucchini
- ½ lemon (juice)
- salt and pepper
Ingredients for Aioli sauce:
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 tsp of honey
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ lemon (juice)
- salt and pepper
- 100 ml olive oil
Let’s start with the Aioli sauce. Yeah, if you don’t know, Aioli means “garlic and oil”. I love garlic and so I also love Aioli. It’s creamy, thick, delicious and goes perfectly with sesame seared tuna! But it’s not really a perfect choice for a first date. Hehehe.
Clean and roughly chop the garlic. Combine the garlic, egg yolk, juice of half lemon, honey, salt and pepper in a food container. Using an immersion blender, blend for 20 seconds or until no garlic chunks are visible. Then slowly add the olive oil; a couple of droplets at a time will prevent the Aioli mixture from separating. You should be blending when adding the oil (you can ask someone to help). Continue with the rest of the oil until well amalgamated, silky and thick. Transfer it into a glass jar and put in the fridge.
Next, wash the carrots and zucchini. With a potato peeler, carefully “peel” them lengthwise to make nice and thin slices. Put the slices into a bowl, sprinkle with salt and pepper, squeeze the juice of half a lemon on top, drizzle with some olive oil and mix. I simply mixed it with my hands (like real chefs; hahaha).
Why to keep the tuna for last? Sesame seared tuna is super quick and easy to prepare and it is most delicious right after it is done. Preheat a non-sticking frying pan. Rub the tuna steaks with olive oil. Then coat them (from all the sides) with sesame seeds. Don’t be afraid to press a little with your palm on it; like that the sesame seeds will stick better.
Once the pan gets hot, place in the tuna steaks and sear for about 1 minute on each side. After one minute you will still have a nice dark pink colour on the inside and a crunchy crust of sesame seeds on the outside. Mmmmm, yummy! Try not to overdo it, or else you’ll get a dry and greyish thing on the plate. Less is more in this case. Hehehe.
Remove the tuna from the pan and with a sharp knife cut about 1,5cm thick slices. Place the tuna on top of the colourful salad and add a spoonful of the delicious Aioli sauce to it. This is a great and an easy way to serve this tasty and mouthwatering sesame seared tuna.
Enjoy!
