Tuna, Take Two
Posted by in Food
If you read my post yesterday, you know I was ready to make a nice dinner of tuna steaks when most of the family suddenly had other plans. So the tuna was put on hold and I was finally able to make it last night.
Teen Martha loves tuna and she loves it practically still swimming – she just wants it seared on the outside. And she has to have wasabi with it. I cannot stand wasabi or anything hot and spicy and I am learning to like my tuna pink.
Now, listen, this recipe is not a big breakthrough by any means, but it’s something I’m a little proud of. I don’t usually order tuna in restaurants, but I have learned that I like it, so I wanted to experiment a bit. It seems Teen Martha is always getting sesame crusted tuna, so I decided to give that a try and make a mango salsa. I loved how it turned out. The salsa gave it a tropical feel and had just enough spiciness in it to liven the dish up. The tuna was cooked perfectly to my tastes (Teen Martha’s piece was left practically raw with a tube of wasabi set next to her). I’ll be making this again since it is quick and very tasty.
Sesame Crusted Tuna with Mango Salsa
4 ahi tuna steaks
olive oil
toasted sesame seeds
Rinse and pat dry the tuna steaks. Rub with olive oil and then sprinkle with as many sesame seeds as you like. Press the seeds into the tuna a bit to get them to stick. Do both sides. I grilled the tuna but you can also sear in a pan. Cook to whatever doneness you prefer – if you’re like Teen Martha, just sear it on both sides. If you’re like me, cook it a bit longer so it is cooked, but still wiggly. This took about 5-7 minutes on the grill.
Mango Salsa
1 mango
1 small gherkin sized cucumber
jalapeno pepper
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
juice of half a lime
1 tsp lemon or lime zest
salt and pepper
Cut up the mango into small pieces. Peel and dice the cucumber and add it. I am a chicken about hot pepper so I have a jar of sliced jalapeno and took just one little piece out and chopped it up. Use more if you like yours hot. Add in cilantro, lime juice, zest and salt and pepper. Allow the salsa to sit for about 30 min, refrigerated. Serve with tuna.
With this we had green beans, pretzel rolls from the bakery with whipped cream cheese and corn on the cob.
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It looks beautiful! We love the sesame seared tuna in this house and we like wasabi! Yours looks awesome! Nice job!
I’ve always kind of wanted to try seared tuna but haven’t been that brave. Your inspiring me to give it a try!
I felt the same way. It was something that was a restaurant dish in my mind, but it was actually super simple to make!
i dont remember where i also had mango salsa with my tuna steak but it was delicious. great picture too!
This looks like a perfect summer dish. Love the idea of mango salsa. I’m going for it.
I’m not a big fish lover, Brette, but this could change my tune — or would that be tuna? 🙂
And it looks ways better than the “Roast Duck with the Mango Salsa” the caveman talks about on the Geico commercial. Clearly, I watch way too much TV.
Ha ha! I wonder if the Geico cavemen eat their tuna super rare like Teen Martha.
We gorged ourselves on mangoes last year when we were in Australia during mango season. I’m a bit too concerned about tuna fishing practices to eat it though. Maybe mango and farmed salmon?
Yum, yum. As I just wrote on FB, we are mango eaters in my family. But I’ve never tried mango with tuna. I’m excited to try this!
Love pairing mango with summer meals. But hadn’t thought to slather a nice slab of ahi tuna with some mango salsa.
Thanks for the inspiration.
This looks great. I’ll tell you a story. Years ago, in my 20s, I was at a super expensive restaurant for a business dinner. I ordered tuna, not even knowing that it is generally served medium rare (or rare). I ate around the raw parts, leaving a big chunk of fish on my plate. The waiter asked if anything was wrong since I hadn’t finished most of my dinner. I said, ‘Well it wasn’t cooked.” Everyone at the table stared at me because they knew it wasn’t supposed to be. I had no idea. I now love it rare in the middle.
I just made mango salsa last night, I used ginger and ancho chili powder along with some other ingredients. I served it over pork and it was soooo refreshing and tasty.
I just love mango.
Mmm. I love mangoes AND ahi. And I like my ahi rare – or even uncooked, though I don’t know that I’d have mango with raw ahi. Brette, when you were in Hawaii did you try poke? Love that!
I did try poke but was not a big fan. I get squeamish with raw fish in general. I don’t like sushi, so having this tuna pink was a big step for me!
I always screw up tuna so it’s dry, dry, dry. Then I had it at a restaurant, and it was also dry. Maybe I’m just not a tuna-texture person? Maybe I’m like Teen Martha, and I should just try it raw.