This is a quick, healthy, and delicious recipe. The dressing for the salad incorporates some Asian flavors that pair wonderfully with the seared tuna.
Seared Tuna and Mixed Greens Salad
This is a quick, healthy, and delicious recipe. The dressing for the salad incorporates some Asian flavors that pair wonderfully with the seared tuna.
Ingredients
- 1 (8 oz) fresh Tuna fillet
- Black and white (tuxedo) sesame seeds, (not toasted)
- Mixed greens for salad
- 1 small tomato, (large dice)
- ¼ cucumber, (peeled & sliced)
- ¼ shallot, (minced)
- ¼ clove garlic, (minced)
- 2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp honey
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil, (plus more for cooking)
- Salt & black pepper
Instructions
- Start by preparing your salad dressing: Combine the minced shallot and minced garlic in a small bowl with the 2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar and Dijon mustard, sesame oil, soy sauce, and honey.
- Season lightly with freshly-ground black pepper.
- Allow the shallots and garlic to sit in this mixture for roughly 15 minutes, and then mix in the 2 Tbsp vegetable oil.
- Taste and adjust for seasoning, adding more soy sauce if more salt is needed.
- Set aside and reserve for later.
- Wash your mixed greens.
- Slice the cucumber and dice the tomato and place onto a plate.
- Salt both the cucumber and tomato and allow to sit for 20 minutes to draw out the excess moisture and season the vegetables.
- This excess liquid should be drained before combining the salad ingredients prior to serving.
- Now that the salad fixings are ready to be assembled, it is time to cook the Tuna fillet.
- Begin by coating the entire exterior of your tuna fillet in the white and black sesame seeds.
- Place a small amount of vegetable oil (1-2 tbsp) in hot non-stick pan or heavy-bottomed stainless-steel pan.
- Heat the oil until it is very hot and nearly smoking.
- Add your tuna fillet, and cook for 60-90 seconds per side.
- Turn off heat and remove tuna from pan and allow to rest for 3-4 minutes.
- Slice the flesh against the grain into sections roughly ¼” thick.
- Combine your salad ingredients and toss gently with the dressing, reserving some dressing for the seared tuna.
- Serve in flat bowls, with the sliced tuna on top of the salad.
- Sprinkle a few drops of the remaining dressing over the top of the seared tuna and serve.
Notes
While this recipe mentions cooking one 8-oz Tuna fillet, you can cook many fillets this way if you are hosting a large party and serving more portions.