Seared Tuna with Grilled Sweet Potato

As a main course for our girls dinner, I decided to make Seared Tuna. Tuna is a difficult fish to make because if you cook it too long it tastes like card board. Whatever and wherever you read how long to cook it, it's too long or short, because every grill & stove is different, and Tuna is a very delicate fish. My solution to the problem is to "raw cook" the meat in a marinade first, and quickly sear it. If tuna is cooked correctly, it's divine. So what does raw cooking mean? It means you let the fish cook by using some kind of acid, for exaple lemon juice or lime.

Marinade

1 lemon (juice)

3tbs sesame oil

1tbs minced fresh ginger

1 large garlic clove (chopped or pressed)

1dl olive oil (Extra virgin)

1tbs soy sauce

1 mild red chili

Remove the seeds from the chili and chop it. In any given Chili it's the seeds that give a burning heat and the shell that gives taste. If you want more heat, never add seeds, change the type of chili you use to a hotter kind. Chop garlic, fresh ginger and mix all together in a bowl. Add juice from one lemon, sesame oil, soy sauce and olive oil. Mix everything. I use a see through plastic bag to put the tuna in and pour the marinade over. The once you get from the grocery store (when you buy veggies or fruit) are perfect. Seal the bag and let the tuna marinade for about 1h. The juice of the lemon will start to cook the meat and you can see a slight change of color after 1h.

Meanwhile prepare the rest of the dish. I serve the tuna with sliced and grilled sweet potato. For four people 1 large sweet potato will do, or 2 smaller. Peel the sweet potato (bataatti) and cut it in half along the long side. After this cut slices in the shape of half moons. Put some baking paper on a tin and place the sweet potatos there. Drizzle oil and salt over them. The sweet potatoes will need to cook for about 10-15min, so put them in the oven (220C) just before it's time to serve.

Salsa

1 Red pepper (punainen paprika)

1/2 Mango

1/2 Red Onion

I serve some mango red pepper salsa with my Tuna. Dice all ingredients and mix them. It's the easiest salsa in the world! Make sure the Mango is ripe though. If you don't like onion, it's fine to leave them out. I do that these days, or use scallions instead.

Finishing touches

1) Put the sweet potatoes in the oven

2) Put a nice salad mix on the plate

3) Searering the tuna: I heat up a pan with just a little oil ( Tuna is a fat fish). Make sure the pan is hot!! I have a gas stove, which makes it easier. Seare the tuna on one side for 30sek, and then turn it over and sear for another 30sek. This is enough. A golden rule is 33-33-33: When you cut the tuna steak it should be 1/3 cooked, 1/3 raw in the middle and 1/3 cooked on the other side.

4) Take out the sweet potatoes and falvor them with a little cayenne.

5) Make a smaller batch of marinade and serve it as a side

This dish is best enjoyed with a good white wine (riesling or gewurstraminer) /or light red (pinot noir), in great company and with some juicy gossip!