Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Easy Seared Tuna With Cucumber, Corn, And Celery Salad

Seared tuna is so easy to make on a busy week night. It cooks fast. It's tasty raw, like below, or cooked through.


Don't we all have those crazy week nights! Today, it's mid-week and we're driving our kids to their separate lessons on the same night. Thankfully, my daughter's piano teacher lives near a Whole Foods so I can stop in to pick up something fresh for dinner since there's isn't anything else pre-made at home.



Seared Tuna
Season a tuna steak with salt and pepper. Preheat toasted sesame oil, or olive oil, in a saute pan over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, place a nice fresh tuna steak in the pan. Sear about one minute on each side, depending on the thickness, and it's done! To make it less rare, adjust cooking time. The inside temperature is easily gauged by watching the grayed cooked edges on the side. When making rare tuna, be sure to buy good quality sushi tuna.


Remove the tuna steak and let it rest while preparing a salad or other side dish. When ready to serve, slice it against the grain. Top with fresh herbs of your choice if you want.


Cucumber, Corn, and Celery Salad
This salad was very nice and light with the tuna. My kids really love cucumbers and corn. I added the celery for a little extra crunch. After washing the English cucumber and celery stalk (organic), I simply shaved the cucumber with a potato peeler then sliced the celery. I added about a half can of drained no salt sweet corn (organic). I dressed it simply with rice vinegar and pepper to taste.


To finish, I sprinkled a little more rice vinegar over everything, including the tuna.

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