Bought some Ahi Tuna at the store today. Since we've been in this house one year as of today and that's anniversary of sorts, thought we'd celebrate.
I caramelized a red onion, by cooking it on lower heat with a bit of olive oil, until the onion turned a bit transparent. Then i added the tuna. It wasn't frozen when I was ready to cook it. So, I cooked it no more than a few minutes on each side, adding a bit of sea salt on each side.
My of my favorite grocery stores had a sale on the Ahi Tuna. We've been trying to watch our grocery expenses, since that is one expense that's not fixed. But, I couldn't pass this up.
If you have been following me on this recipe blog, you're well aware that I'm trying to avoid cooking meats and seafood when possible, to maintain the juiciness and flavor of the item in question. I believe this tuna is sushi grade, so it can actually be safely consumed raw. I thought seared tuna would be absolutely delectable. When I first took a photograph of the cooked tuna, "oh crap, I cooked it too long went through my mind." As you can see, it's not very pink in the middle one the right hand side and no trace of pink can be seen on the left. Turned out and tasted exquisite. Could have been cooked just a tad less. Not too chewy (a mark of cooking it too long).
Here it was at the beginning of the cooking process. Not a bad looking piece, eh?
Oh, and by the way, those are fresh calamata olives in the top photograph. I purchased them whole and not pitted, at the same store. I have a olive/cherry pitter, so the job of pitting and cutting those olives wasn't hard. NEVER use canned olives, because they don't have that deliciously rich taste. Oh, and I did not cook the olives.
Didn't leave me hungry or too full. Satisfied and feeling great. Can't wait for my husband to come home so he can enjoy his portion. I was too hungry to wait for him.
There is a grocer called Sunflower Farmer's Market that has fantastic weekly deals, and I buy according to what they have on sale. One week the store had a good price on fresh tuna. Mmmm. As Americans, we tend to overcook our meats and fish, and, as my dad pointed out, cooking fish in the oven increases the chances of overcooking the fish.
Since my pregnancy with Victoria, I have really enjoyed seared tuna. For those of you who are not familiar with the term "seared," it means cooked on the outside and fleshy or pink on the inside.
I put some green onions and olive oil in a pan on medium heat. Once the onions were sizzling and I could smell the fragrance of it, I put the fish in the pan. Probably cooked the fish approximately four to five minutes on each side. Keep in mind this was fresh fish. If you're using frozen fish, the cooking time will need to be increased. I used some salt and soy sauce to flavor the fish, while cooking in the pan. Once the fish was almost done, I tossed in frozen peas (frozen vegetables keep the nutrients in them). Viola, the meal's ready to go. The fish and peas, I served over a bed of rice. I cooked the rice in a rice cooker.
Being radically transformed into God's image, living that out, and ministering to the needs of others. Philosopher by training, friend, mother, friend, writer, musician, foodie-want-to-be.
2010-7-15
