Welcome back to How I Cook!
This week, we’re going to (barely) cook a piece of tuna and serve it with tomatoes. Tomatoes prepared this way are just stunning and you might have seen them before.
Last year, every person and their dog was drowning grilled bread in grated tomatoes, maybe even adorning them with an anchovy or two or a tinned sardine. Well, I see your pan con tomate and raise you, Seared Tuna con Tomate!
Let’s make it.
Cheers,
B x
We’ve got some good weather on the horizon! At last! Perfectly coinciding with the return of the good tomatoes. I’ve got a particularly sunny plate of food for you this week. I had planned to offer a handful of tuna and tomato recipes, but in the end, felt that this one has enough impact and oomph to be a standalone. I hope you agree.
INSPIRATION
And just like that, we’re back in Spain. I was thinking about this plate for a good few weeks after I ate it on the beach at Casa Bigote in Sanlucar. You can clearly see the similarity, although I’m much more generous with the tomato. A few slivers sit under the seared tuna in the Casa Bigote version. For me, a sea of sweet, rich tomato and olive oil is a more generous offering. They finished theirs with a volcanic sea salt (the black bits!) and I’m opting for a spin on the classic sesame coating, elevated with a few whole spices for fragrance and little pops of flavour.
RAW TUNA
It goes without saying that in order to eat tuna (or any fish) raw, you need to get your hands on some really good stuff. This really isn’t as hard as you might think, just pick up your phone and hit up the local fishmonger, I guarantee not only will they be able to source you some, they’ll likely already have some on the counter.
Ask for the eye of the loin, the part of the fish with as little sinew as possible. IT should be a deep, dark red colour. If it’s really bright red, it might have been dyed, avoid this stuff! Ideally, you want to cook this the day you bought the fish, so everything is super, super fresh!
TOMATOES
We are so back. There’s not much to say here other than buy these best darn tomato you can get your hands on. You want a large variety, don’t bother trying to grate a cherry tomato, it’ll be all seeds. You need a tomato that has a high flesh to seed ratio. Something you might slice up to put in a burger or in a panzanella salad.
I favour the Cuore Del Vesuvio or Pink Bull’s Heart for their low seed count and rich, juicy flesh. They make for a great salad tomato as well as being perfect for grating like this.
If it’s the Vesuvio you’re after, you can scoop them up here on Ocado.
WHOLE SPICES
I love a sesame seared tuna, don’t get me wrong. But why have one seed, when you can have 4?!
Whole spices work so well in this application. They toast at roughly the same rate as a sesame seed and deliver so much flavour. I’ve used fennel, coriander and cumin alongside my sesame, but you could use whatever you like. Fenugreek, caraway, cardamom - whatever. Just remember, you want to use a whole seed rather than a dried herb, chilli flake or garlic granule. These will likely burn before you’ve had chance to sear the outside of the fish. The hot oil will wake up those whole spices before they burn giving your fish some serious flavour.
SEARED TUNA “CON TOMATE”
This will take you about 15 minutes to make, is dead easy, and will feed 2-3 people.
INGREDIENTS
2 Large Ripe Tomatoes
1 Tbsp Good Quality Sherry Vinegar
3 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 Tbsp Sesame Seeds
1 Tbsp Cumin Seeds
1 Tbsp Coriander Seeds
1 Tbsp Fennel Seeds
300g Tuna Loin
1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
Small Bunch of Chives
Flaky Salt
METHOD
Cut the tomatoes in half through the middle (horizontally, not through the stalk) and rub the cut side on the coarse side of a box grater set over a bowl. I like to move the tomato in a circular motion on the grater, this way, you don’t get long strands of flesh, rather a nice even pulp. Keep grating until you’re just left with skin. Do this carefully, whilst box graters are pretty blunt, you don’t want to catch your finger! Repeat with the remaining tomato halves.
Season the tomato pulp with (a lot) of salt, the sherry vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. Have a taste. The mixture should be sweet, pretty tart and generously seasoned, with a little grassy olive oil at the end. It’s about as good as it gets for tomato season, in my book.
Combine the sesame seeds with the whole spices and mix. Pour onto a tray and spread evenly. Season the tuna with salt and brush all over with the mustard. Roll in the seed mixture to evenly coat.
Preheat a frying pan over a high heat. Add generous layer of olive oil and allow it to reach just below smoke point. Carefully add the tuna and sear on all sides, not cooking for more than 20-30 seconds a side. If things get too hot or seeds start to burn, whip the fish out the pan, add new oil and start over, no biggie. Once all the sides are seared, pop the fish onto a cutting board.
Finely slice the chives and add to all sides of the tuna. Using your longest, sharpest knife, cut the tuna into thin slices. Use the whole length of the blade, applying very little pressure and gently sawing back and forth with long strokes. If you try and push your knife down through the flesh, you’ll have a mess!
Spoon the tomato mixture across a serving platter and top with the sliced tuna loin. Carefully season each of the slices with a little flaky salt and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Serve with warm bread and get stuck in.
Deep in View by Cola
The band that were once Ought and are now, Cola, have just released a fresh new record, and it made me want to listen to the first one (this one) even more. That’s not because the new record is bad, quite the contrary, their latest outing is really, really good too. Driving, sparse post-punk make up the humble 35 minutes of this album, each track has its own subtle, devastatingly catchy quirk and all are so very listenable.
I guarantee you’ll have At Pace on repeat for the weekend.
Album Highlights: Blank Curtain, At Pace, Mint
Homecooked food on serveware from Service Projects
One of the most common questions I’m asked is, where do I buy my plates from? First on the list is an often one word demand for “RECIPE”, barked via the internet as a reply to a picture of my lunch, please stop doing that… or at least ask nicely.
Philip Seerup is the head honcho over at Service Projects and has produced a beautiful, tightly curated selection of essentials for the home. I love the minimalist style and geometry of the pieces, especially the metalware. the metal bowls and pasta plate are perfect for everyday use, and feel near bulletproof.
For a more elegant serve, the ceramic ‘Métier’ series does the trick. The smaller platter or tray in the set is going to be a favourite in our house. See it below, covered in fried seafood.
The website also has a killer editorial section, offering some great city guides, interviews and other bits of writing. Philip has given us the code DINNERBYBEN15 for a sweet 15% off. The code is live for a week starting today, go and check out the Service Projects store and pick something up!
Thanks for reading y’all,
Until next time.
B x
Unfortunately my husband doesn’t like “raw” tuna, but, but will come at pink salmon. No matter, I think the recipe is fab, I keep telling myself, “you must do those grated tomatoes!”. I’m not sure whether it was you I told, but we now have in our local supermarket gigantic ‘Grandma’s’ tomatoes, they are sooo delicious, just like a tomato should taste. I am definitely adding this to my repertoire of menus.