Photo: Herb-Seared Tuna with Caponata and Warm Lemon Creme Fraiche Recipe
Ingredients
Caponata:
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 anchovy fillets, coarsely chopped
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 4 Japanese eggplants or 1 large Italian eggplant, cubed
- 2 tomatoes, halved and seeds squeezed out, coarsely chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tablespoons capers, drained
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- Pinch sugar
- 1/2 bunch fresh basil, hand-torn
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lemon Creme Fraiche:
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 lemon, zest finely grated
- 1/4 cup creme fraiche
Herb Seared Tuna:
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 pound sushi-quality tuna loin
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup finely chopped fresh herbs, such as basil, parsley, and chives
Directions
To make the caponata: Pour the oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add the anchovies and red pepper flakes and cook and stir for a few minutes to create a base flavor. Fry the eggplant in the anchovy oil, until it gets brown and sticky, stirring often. Add the tomatoes, red pepper, onion, and garlic, continue to cook until the vegetables break down and soften, about 15 minutes. Toss in the capers, raisins, olives, balsamic vinegar, sugar, and basil; season with salt and pepper. Lower the heat and slowly simmer until thick, about 20 to 30 minutes. The caponata tastes great hot, cold or at room temperature.
To make the lemon creme fraiche: Put the chicken stock, garlic, and lemon zest in a saucepan and place over medium heat. Simmer gently until the stock is reduced by half and thickened slightly. Take the pot off the heat, fish out the garlic, and add the creme fraiche. Just before you are ready to plate the dish, buzz the sauce with a handheld blender until it's thick and frothy.
To make the tuna: Rub a little olive oil on the piece of tuna. and season with a fair amount of salt and pepper. Put the chopped herbs in a flat dish and roll in the herbs to coat. Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and coat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When the oil gets hazy, lay the herb-coated tuna in the hot pan and sear for approximately 1 1/2 minutes on each side; as the tuna cooks, the red meat will become whiter. Transfer the tuna to a cutting board and slice.
To serve: Spoon the caponata on the bottom of 2 plates, lay the herb-seared tuna slices around the center, and drizzle the whole thing with the frothy lemon creme fraiche sauce.
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By nataliebridgewa...
Washington, DC
on August 09, 2012
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i stand with the other reviewers. a great meal. i'm an all-around fan of seared tuna, was in fact looking for a new way to prepare it when i came across this recipe. i used basil, parsley and a little mint to coat it which, the mint in particular, gave a nice balance against the caponata. speaking of the caponata--what a great recipe to have in the repertoire. it's delicious and almost intuitive in its preparation--capers, raisins, eggplant and some stock veggies. nothing hard about that. not to mention its versatility is easy to see--tuna, chix, protein of your choice, alone, hot, room temp, i can't really see any way to go wrong with it. that puff pastry with wilted arugula and goat cheese sounds really nice. will hve to try that. thx, berkeley! and thx, tyler!
By erin.pallas_129...
Berkeley, 43
on June 04, 2010
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I did not make the tuna but instead just the caponata (with no modifications to the caponata itself. It was amazing! The first night I made a puff pastry, piled on some arugula, put the hot caponata on top to wilt the greens, and then sprinkled with goat cheese. So good. I had leftovers the second night and mixed it with some pasta, parm and pancetta. It is now my husband's favorite pasta dish. I wish Tyler Florance's recipes had more comments and came up higher in the searches. I haven't tried one yet that was less than an absolute hit.
By cathleen.bulian...
Chicago, IL
on August 22, 2008
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I made this recipe for a dinner party and everyone loved it. The herb-seared tuna was absolutely delicious, and the caponata was unexpectedly equally amazing. The caponata is something I've made several times since then - it is delicious hot, warm or cold as a side dish or on toasts for appetizers or a snack.
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