Sicilian Tuna Recipes

SICILIAN-STYLE GRILLED TUNA STEAKS

Steps:

• Brush the tuna with some oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat the grill and brush the cooking grates with oil.
• Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat and cook the garlic for a minute. Add the tomatoes and cook for another couple of minutes. Add the wine and bring to a rapid boil for two minutes. Add all remaining ingredients except for the parsley and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Stir in the parsley and remove from heat.
• Sear the tuna steaks over high, direct heat for 1-2 minutes on each side. (For the best texture and to prevent becoming dried out tuna should be rare to medium rare on the inside.)
• Serve the tuna steaks immediately topped with the sauce.

SICILIAN TUNA PASTA

Steps:

• Cook the pasta in a pan of boiling salted water according to the packet instructions.
• Meanwhile, place a large non-stick frying pan on a medium-high heat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the capers, fry until super-crispy, then scoop out and put aside, leaving the fragrant oil behind.
• Halve and add the tomatoes, then sprinkle in most of the oregano.
• Drain and flake in the tuna, add 2 ladlefuls of pasta cooking water, and simmer until the pasta is done.
• Drain the pasta, reserving a mugful of cooking water, then toss the pasta into the tuna pan, loosening with a splash of reserved cooking water, if needed.
• Taste, season to perfection with sea salt and black pepper, then dish up. Sprinkle over the crispy capers and the remaining oregano from a height, drizzle with 1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil, and tuck in.

SWEET AND SOUR SICILIAN TUNA

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, and continue to cook and stir until the onion is very tender and dark brown, 15 to 20 minutes more. Remove the onion from the skillet.
• Place the tuna steaks in the same skillet over medium-high heat and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Remove the tuna steaks to a serving tray; keep warm.
• Stir the vinegar and sugar together in the same skillet until sugar is dissolved. Return the onions to the pan, and simmer until the liquid reduces and is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Return the tuna to the pan and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Place the tuna on the warm serving tray and top with the onion and sweet and sour mixture.

SICILIAN TUNA STEAKS IN SPICY SAUCE

Steps:

• Set a skillet pan big enough to hold all four steaks over a high heat with 2 tablespoons olive oil.
• As the oil is heating, sprinkle a level teaspoon of the ground sea salt over both sides of the tuna steaks - that's one level teaspoon for all four steaks - not a teaspoon for each one.
• As soon as the oil starts smoking, cut the heat back to medium-high and add the tuna steaks. Let them sizzle away for two minutes, then turn them and cook for another two minutes. Turn off the heat and let the steaks sit in the skillet whilst you make the sauce.
• Heat three level tablespoons of olive oil in a medium-sized pot (that will take a lid) over medium heat. Add the sliced strips of red bell pepper, stir well to coat them with the olive oil and turn the heat down to low-medium. Cover the pot with its lid. The peppers need to soften, but not brown at all. So, keep them slowly cooking for 10 minutes with some regular stirring.
• Add the chopped cherry tomatoes, the sliced garlic, the sugar, and ground sea salt. Cook for another five minutes on that low-medium heat - stirring now and then - until the cherry tomatoes lose most of their body.
• Now add all the sauce's remaining ingredients (including those chili peppers), stir it all together, and let the sauce gently simmer for another 10 minutes. Turn off the heat. Done.
• Melt the butter in a medium-size pot over a low heat and add the sliced garlic and sea salt. Stir the pot and let the garlic release its flavor into the butter - about 3 minutes over a stirred low heat. The garlic must not brown.
• Add all of the spinach. It'll be a bit of crush to get it into the pot - that's ideal - pile it in and put the lid on. After two minutes, stir the spinach so that it all picks up a coating of the buttery garlic. Put the lid back on and let the spinach cook for another two minutes. Then stir the spinach again, put the lid back and let it cook for another two minutes. Turn off the heat and keep the lid on so the spinach retains its heat as you finish cooking the tuna in the sauce.
• Put the skillet with the seared, partly cooked tuna steaks onto a medium heat and pour the sauce over them. Lift the steaks a little so that they sit in the surrounding sauce as it heats. As soon as the sauce starts to bubble, turn the heat to low and let the steaks finish their cooking for about six minutes at a very gentle simmer in the sauce. They'll then be ready to serve - straight from the skillet, with the emerald green spinach presented alongside.

SICILIAN TUNA SALAD SANDWICH RECIPE

Steps:

• In a food processor, combine beans, mascarpone, salt, and lemon zest, and process for 30 seconds, until pureed.
• With the machine running, add lemon juice and olive oil, and continue to process until smooth, about another 30 seconds. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, stir together tuna, chopped celery stalks and leaves, sun-dried tomatoes, capers, parsley, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
• Spread 2 Tbsp. of white bean spread onto each English muffin half.
• Arrange a few arugula leaves on spread and top with 2 Tbsp. of tuna salad and a drizzle of olive oil.

SICILIAN TUNA

Steps:

• Marinate tuna:
• Combine oil, lemon juice, anchovies, garlic, oregano, and tuna in a large sealable bag and seal bag, pressing out excess air. Let stand at room temperature, turning occasionally, 30 minutes.
• Grill tuna:
• Remove tuna from marinade and shake off any excess. Lightly oil grill pan and heat over medium-high heat until smoking. Grill tuna, turning once, until pale pink in center, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm.
• Meanwhile, make sauce:
• Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add diced celery and cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, olives, and capers and cook until sauce is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in basil, lemon juice, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper and remove from heat. Spoon sauce over tuna and sprinkle with celery leaves.

SICILIAN-STYLE TUNA STEAKS (TONNO ALLA GHIOTTA)

Steps:

• 1. In a medium skillet over moderately high heat, warm the oil. Season the tuna with salt and pepper and sauté, turning once, until golden on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes total. Remove the tuna and set aside. Do not clean the pan.
• 2. In the same pan over low heat, sauté the onion, stirring frequently, until just tender, about 1 minute. Add the garlic, capers, olives, raisins, and tomatoes, and continue cooking, stirring, until heated through, about 2 minutes. If the tomatoes don't release much juice, add the fish stock or water to give the sauce some body.
• 3. Return the tuna to the pan and cover it with a tight-fitting lid. Cook over moderate heat until the tuna reaches the desired doneness, 2 to 3 minutes for medium.
• 4. Add the parsley and basil and stir to incorporate, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve the fish with the sauce spooned over the top; garnish with pine nuts.

SICILIAN TUNA STEAKS IN ONION SAUCE

Steps:

• SAUCE:.
• Saute the onions in olive oil and butter over medium heat in a large skillet.
• Add salt and cook, stirring until they are limp.
• Stir in vinegar and sugar, and cook over a slightly lower heat until the vinegar has evaporated.
• I caution you, the escaping steam will take your breath away so stay well away from the skillet when possible, but do perservere!
• When vinegar has evaporated, add cayenne or tabasco, mix well and remove from heat.
• The sauce should still retain the texture of the onions and yet retain enough moisture to be spoonable.
• Cover and keep warm.
• TUNA:.
• Over medium heat, add olive oil and bay leaves to a skillet large enough to hold tuna steaks in one layer.
• When the oil is warm, not hot, add tuna and salt and pepper to taste.
• Saute 2-3 minutes per side, but this will depend on thickness of steaks and your doneness preference-- we like ours on the rare side.
• Raise heat, add wine, and cover pan a second or two, just until the wine has stopped steaming.
• Uncover skillet, cook 30 seconds longer, then transfer tuna to plates.
• Spoon the onions and sauce over the top of each, and serve.