Seared Tuna Roasted Tomatoes Fennel With A Olive Sauce Recipes

SEARED TUNA, ROASTED TOMATOES & FENNEL WITH A OLIVE SAUCE

Steps:

• Sauce -- Start to prepare the sauce. In a large NOT non stick pan which you will be cooking the tuna in add the fennel seeds over medium and just toast a few minutes to get lightly toasted. No oil, just a dry pan and will only take a minute. Remove when toasted and just set to the side.
• Now if you don't have fennel seeds, don't panic. The dish will taste just fine. I just like that additional layer of flavor but don't worry and don't make a extra trip to the store just for them. They do however make a great additional to your spice cabinet.
• Tuna -- Remove tuna from the fridge to take some of the chill off. I like to cook mine more and room temperature. Prepare all your vegetables. For the fennel, remove the green parts and slice like a onion.
• Vegetables -- Roast your tomatoes and fennel in a 400 degree oven. On a cookie sheet covered with foil or parchment paper, lightly drizzle your tomatoes and fennel with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast 10 minutes, just until slightly brown and the tomatoes start to soften. Don't over cook you still want them fresh tasting.
• Tuna round II -- As the tomatoes and fennel cook, start your tuna. Season well with salt and pepper and in that same pan you toasted the fennel seeds heat on medium high heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Sear the tuna until it gets a nice crust on one side without moving. Should take 3-5 minutes depending on the thickness. Thinner cuts will take much less and you do not want to over cook it. Flip over and the second size will take even less time. You want it rare - medium rare, so I usually remove when rare. Set to the side and cover with foil as you make the sauce.
• Olive sauce -- in the pan that you cooked the tuna in, add the garlic and shallot and cook just a minute also on medium to medium high heat. You can add a little extra olive oil if necessary, but you shouldn't need any. Then add the white wine and red pepper flakes. Let cook another minute to reduce slightly. Then add the olives, lemon juice, zest, any additional salt and pepper if needed, but olives are salty so be careful. The last thing, stir in the fennel seeds and then just let simmer on medium for another minute just to slightly reduce. Remember, this is a thin sauce, not a gravy.
• Plate it up! If using a salad like I mentioned in the description, I would plate the salad, then top with the tuna. Top with a slice or two of the tomatoes and a few fennel slices. Then drizzle the olive sauce over the whole thing. ENJOY!

TUNA STEAKS WITH FENNEL

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the leek and cook, stirring, until leeks are limp, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until the mixture is fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Add the fennel and a generous pinch of salt and cook, stirring often, until it begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Turn the heat to low, cover and cook slowly for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the lemon juice, taste and adjust seasonings. The mixture should be very soft.
• Meanwhile, season the albacore steaks with salt and pepper and heat the remaining olive oil in another pan over medium-high heat. Sear the albacore steaks for 30 seconds on each side. Place on top of the fennel. Cover the pan, turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes, until the fish is cooked through.
• Sprinkle on the parsley and serve, laying the fish on top of the fennel, with lemon wedges on the side.

SEARED TUNA WITH OLIVES, CAPERS, PEPPERS AND TOMATO

Steps:

• Heat the garlic in the oil over low heat until it turns pale gold, about 15 minutes. Remove garlic with a slotted spoon to a small bowl.
• Increase the heat to med-high and add the red onions. Cook for 2 minutes. Add the tuna strips. Increase the heat to high and quickly sear the fish on all sides, while seasoning it with the basil, oregano, and mint. Cook until the fish is done to your liking, 2 to 5 minutes. Remove fish to a hot platter or warm oven.
• Return the garlic to the skillet. Add the tomatoes, olives, capers, and red pepper flakes. Cook for just a minute, stirring occasionally. Spoon over fish.
• Garnish with the remaining basil and mint.

SEARED TUNA WITH TOMATOES AND BASIL

Steps:

• In a 12-inch skillet, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Season tuna generously with salt and pepper. Arrange half of tuna in skillet in a single layer to prevent crowding. Cook, turning once, until golden brown on top and bottom, about 1 1/2 minutes per side (3 minutes total). Tuna should be slightly pink inside. Transfer to a platter. Cover to keep warm. Add another 1 1/2 tablespoons oil, and repeat with second batch.
• Wipe out the bottom of the skillet. Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil and the onion. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until onion is golden brown and soft, 4 to 6 minutes. Add tomatoes and wine, and simmer, stirring often, until the tomatoes' skins just begin to wrinkle, about 2 minutes. Cook at a bare simmer until sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes more. Add basil to skillet, and cook, stirring, until wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon hot sauce over tuna just before serving.

SPAGHETTI WITH OLIVE-OIL-POACHED TUNA IN TOMATO-FENNEL SAUCE

Steps:

• FOR THE TUNA
• Add the fennel seeds to a small sauté pan and bring to medium-high heat. (You need toasted fennel seeds for both the tuna and the sauce, so toss 2 tablespoons in the pan now and save a step later!) Toast the fennel seeds, shaking the pan frequently, until they are very aromatic and start to turn a brighter shade of green, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and grind the seeds in a spice grinder or crush with a mortar and pestle.
• Season the tuna belly with salt, red pepper, and half the ground fennel seeds (you're saving the other half for the sauce).
• Preheat the oven to 200°F.
• Put the tuna in a medium ovenproof saucepan and cover with olive oil. Toss in the garlic, bay leaves, and thyme bundle. Cover and put in the oven; cook for 1 hour. Remove and let cool to room temperature. Use immediately or refrigerate in an airtight container.
• FOR THE SAUCE AND PASTA
• Coat a large wide saucepan with olive oil and add the onions and fennel; season with salt and red pepper and bring to medium heat. Cook the veggies until soft and aromatic, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes, the reserved tablespoon of toasted fennel seeds, and 1 cup water to the pan and season with salt. Bring to a boil (BTB) and reduce to a simmer (RTS); simmer for 30 minutes.
• Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook for 1 minute less than the instructions on the package suggest. Taste it: It should be toothsome with just a little nugget of hard pasta still in the center-this is al dente.
• Remove the tuna from the olive oil, break it up, and add it to the sauce.
• Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce; stir vigorously to combine. Add a drizzle of big fat finishing oil and serve garnished with fennel fronds.
• YOU SAY TOMATO, I SAY SAN MARZANO
• San Marzano tomatoes are, as the name suggests, from San Marzano, Italy, outside of Naples. Sweet and delicious, these canned tomatoes are naturally very low in acid. Sometimes you'll notice people add a pinch of sugar to tomatoes when making sauce-this is not to sweeten the sauce so much as to offset the acid in the tomatoes. When you're using San Marzano tomatoes, this isn't necessary because they're naturally super-sweet and low in acid. However, for this same reason, they need a lot of salt to bring out their best flavor . . . accept it and move on.
• San Marzano tomatoes are perfect for sauce, and they work beautifully with my favorite piece of kitchen equipment: the food mill. It's super-old school but I love using a food mill to purée tomatoes because it lets the seeds slip through, leaving all the big-money stuff up top. Remember, when you put your tomatoes through a food mill, be sure to scrape the pulp off the bottom to get every last bit of tomato-y goodness! This is the stuff that will help thicken the sauce, so you don't want to leave it behind. Got it?