If grilling is your thing, here’s a tasty recipe by Tyler Florence. It’s the perfect pairing of tuna and black olive tapenade that makes this dish rock! An excellent choice for a romantic meal; this recipe is pretty easy once you have all the ingredients set up (mise en place).
Grilled tuna steaks prepared Mediterranean style. And the taste? Superb.
Grilled Tuna Steaks and Tomatoes over White Bean Puree
Ingredients
Yield: serves 2-4
Time: 50 minutes
For the Tuna:
- 2 sushi-quality tuna steaks, such as Ahi (6 to 8 ounces) each, about 1 inch thick
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 medium beefsteak tomatoes
- 1/2 cup orange chile oil (recipe follows)
- 2 cups fresh Israeli arugula leaves, for garnish
- Fresh mache, to serve on the side
White Bean Puree:
- 2 cans (14 oz) white cannelini beans, drained
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 anchovy filets
- 1/2 cup white chicken stock, heated
- 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Black Olive Tapenade:
- 1 cup pitted kalalmata olive
- 1 small garlic clove
- pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1 tablespoon of fresh tarrgaon
- 1 tablespoon red or white wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Orange Chili Oil:
- 1 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 4 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
- 1 1/2 tablespoons dried red chili flakes
- 2 strips of orange peel
Start by making the orange chili oil first as it needs to sit for an hour
Make the chili oil by adding the thyme, rosemary, chili flakes and orange
peel to the oil. Put aside and let it sit for at least one hour to let
the flavors infuse.
Directions
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.
Lay out cherry vine tomatoes in a single layer on a roasting tray. Drizzle
with orange chile oil and roast in the oven for 8-10 minutes until
tomatoes are slightly burst and have given off their juices.
Make the olive tapenade. Add tapenade ingredients to a food processor and process to a coarse puree. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and
set aside.
Make white bean puree. In a saucepan add a 2 count of
extra-virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and anchovies
and sweat for 1 minutes until fragrant. Add the beans followed by the
warm chicken stock and cook until heated through. Transfer the mixture
to a food processor or blender and puree with a splash of white
vinegar, salt and some freshly ground black pepper. Thin with extra
stock if the puree is too thick. Give it a final taste and adjust
seasoning if necessary. Set aside and keep warm until ready to serve.
Now prepare the tuna. Heat your grill until it is smoking hot. Drizzle the
tuna with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on the hot
grill for about 45 seconds and then turn over and do the same. The tuna
should be rare on the inside and have nice grill marks on the outside.
Plating the Dish:
- Place t2-3 tablespoons of the white bean puree on the plate
- Next place a grilled tuna steak over the bean puree
- Top this with a few slices of the roasted tomatoes
- Finish off with a spoonful of the olive tapenade and garnish with fresh Israeli arugula leaves.
