Seared Tuna

I must confess that eating tuna, for me, meant from a can but that was years ago. Now I look forward to fresh tuna and incorporating it into our diet. Tuna is an excellent source of lean protein, vitamins, minerals and can also help lower blood pressure and cholesterol. For more information on health benefits of tuna, click here. Try using fresh lemon juice, olive oil and a little mustard for a healthier way to make a tuna sandwich instead of mayonnaise. There are a few varieties of tuna with flesh ranging from light to dark. The tuna I bought was yellowfin tuna as its flesh was a lighter red whereas the bluefin tuna is a dark red (similar to the color of beef) and much more expensive. Bluefin is usually used in sushi or sashimi.

Serves 4
250g – 300g tuna
sea salt and freshly ground paper
olive oil
half a lemon

Season tuna with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Heat a stainless steel pan over medium high heat for a couple minutes. When the pan is hot add the fish. This will seal in its juices and cook rather quickly. After a couple of minutes turn the fish and cook on the other side. Watch the tuna cook by the end piece. Ideally, only the edges should cook while the middle remains raw and warm. Remove from pan and slice. Drizzle olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice over fish.

The Culinary Chase’s Note: Over cooking will result in dry tuna and ruin your culinary investment! You can cook the tuna like I did or cut the tuna into steaks and quickly pan fry. Drizzle with olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice.