Fresh tuna is marinated in a mixture of olive oil, sweet red wine, honey, lime, garlic, sweet onions, and dill. It is seared on the stove-top but can also be easily grilled. Fresh tuna can be a major investment, and it is a shame to overcook it. It should be cooked like a fine steak -- rare, medium rare, or at the most, medium. Surprisingly, when cooked properly, fresh tuna has little or no fishy taste. You can make a sauce of caramelized onions as directed in the recipe, or simply discard the marinade. Your choice, but the caramelized onions on top are delicious.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 Tablespoons quality olive oil
- 1/4 cup sweet red wine
- 1 clove garlic, pressed
- Juice of 1/2 lime
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- 1/2 cup shaved or very thinly-sliced sweet onion slices (about 1/2 of a medium onion)
- 2 Tablespoons fresh dill weed, roughly chopped
- 4 (1-inch thick) tuna steaks
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon butter
Preparation:
Place olive oil, red wine, garlic, lime juice, and honey in a heavy zip-top bag. Squish to combine. Add tuna steaks, shaved sweet onions, and dill weed. Seal bag and toss to coat. Unseal, squeeze out all the air, re-seal, and refrigerate for 1 hour.Remove tuna steaks from the marinade, reserving the marinade and onions. Sprinkle tuna steaks with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Heat a heavy skillet over high heat. Add just enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan (about 1 teaspoon).
Sear tuna steaks until browned on each side, turning only once, until medium-rare to medium in doneness. Do not overcook.
Remove tuna steaks to a platter and keep warm. (If you are skipping the caramelized onions, slice and serve immediately.)
Melt butter in the same pan. Add reserved marinade and sweet onions to the hot pan and cook, scraping up any browned bits, until slightly thickened and onions are soft and caramelized.
Return tuna steaks to the pan to slightly re-warm, turning to coat. Serve immediately, topped with caramelized onions.
Yield: 4 servings
Honey Lime Tuna Recipe Photo © 2007 Peggy Trowbridge Filippone, licensed to About.com, Inc.
