Repurposing Basil, Part V (Basil-laced fresh tuna salad)

Tuna salad’s a summery dish, no? This was originally a Martha Stewart recipe for a sandwich filling, but we changed a few things up, made it a lot healthier (and tastier, in my opinion!) and turned it into a meal. You could use it for sandwiches, but I think just serving it with good bread on the side is more workable:

• 1 lb. fresh tuna steaks
• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/4 c. sherry
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• 2 oz. Kalamata olives, drained and halved
• 1/4 c. fresh basil, cut into strips
• zest from one lemon, cut into thin strips

Cook the tuna how you’d like it – grilled, pan seared, roasted. Your choice. When cooked, cut the tuna into small chunks. Combine olive oil, sherry, shallot, olives, basil, and zest strips in a bowl. Add tuna and toss until coated and mixed thoroughly. Season with salt & pepper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Serve.

Serve either in a sandwich or on its own. Yum!

 

 

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Pan Piper (Pan-Seared Tuna Steaks w/ginger asparagus)

I promised you quick – tonight, I’m going to give you quick.
(So quick that I don’t have pictures to share, but I think you’ll get the idea…)
Asparagus is coming in this time of year, so I’ll make any excuse to grab it. After a weekend glued to the couch watching hoop, a healthy meal was in order. So…
For Tuna

• Get a couple of good tuna steaks.
• Marinate them for around 20 minutes or so in soy-ginger salad dressing of some kind in the fridge.
• Heat a little olive oil in a skillet over high heat.
• When pan is hot, drop in the steaks. Sear for 3 minutes on a side. (Longer if you like it less rare.) Transfer to cutting board.
• Slice thinly into pieces. Top with salt and pepper.

For Asparagus

• Cut the very bottom of the stalks, then slice the rest on a 45 degree angle, making pieces about an inch and a half long.
• Take about a 1/2 tbsp. crystallized ginger and chop the pieces as best you can.
• Melt about a tablespoon of butter and a little olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add a couple of cloves of minced garlic. Sauté asparagus pieces and ginger until asparagus pieces are crisp-tender.
• Top with salt and pepper.

Serve with a dollop of wasabi horseradish on the side for dipping. We had this with a sauvignon blanc and it worked well.
Easy, easy, easy.