St Remy Tuna

After whining for close to two weeks about being sick, I'm finally well enough to do some bit of research and development in the kitchen. Before that, meals are almost about Chinese stirfrys and soup with rice. Very straightforward. And a lot of fish too, cooked mainly by steaming.

The fish department in Wellington supermarkets generally has quite limited variety. So when we saw tuna steaks for sale the night before, we couldn't resist trying something different. I do not like canned tuna, but love tuna sashimi. But we also make it a point not to eat tuna too often, as this is one fish that has suffered from overfishing.

Found this "St Remy Tuna" recipe from my ultimate fish cookbook. It's surprisingly fast and easy to cook. It was the side dishes of fried kumara (sweet potato) sticks and boiled french beans that took us longer to cook. St Rémy is a village in Provence, France, which has nothing to do with Rémi.

And dessert was Apple Yoghurt Cake. No doubt my appetite has come back.

St Rémy Tuna
Serves two

2 tuna steaks
about 1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons white wine
1-2 ripe plum tomatoes, peeled, deseeded and chopped
dried herbs de provence, or Italian mixed herbs. Or just simply a mixture of thyme, rosemary, oregano etc.
salt and ground black pepper

Season the tuna steaks with salt and pepper.

Start cooking just before you are ready to serve, like get your side dishes ready first, as the tuna steak and sauce takes only about 10 minutes to cook.

Set a frying pan over high heat until very hot, add the oil and coat more or less evenly around the pan. Add the tuna steaks and press down gently. Reduce heat to medium and cook for about 6-8 minutes or less. Turn only once, until the centre is just slightly pink. Do not overcook.

Transfer tuna to a warm serving plate and cover to keep warm.

Then quickly add garlic to the pan and cook for a few seconds. Pour in the wine, bring to boil until it is reduced by half.

Add the chopped tomatoes and dried herbs. Cook for 2-3 minutes, season with pepper and pour over the fish steaks.

Serve with potatoes and french beans.