Tuna Nicoise

I have just got back from our yearly family holiday to Fiji and I got a real taste for one of my favourite pieces of fish –Tuna. Now a beautiful piece of fresh tuna is just beautiful with very little done to it, raw and wrapped in rice as Sushi or lightly cured in lime juice with some crisp salad leaves and a little horseradish cream. But my all-time favourite Tuna dish has always been a perfectly crafted “Tuna Nicoise” salad. You can make this dish with the best tined Tuna in spring water and its quite good, however nothing beats a superb piece of fresh tuna steak , but either way it’s a great, light and healthy dish that’s big on flavour, so give it a go.

INGREDIENTS

1/2kg new waxy potatoes (reds are a good choice) lightly boiled and sliced with skin on
100g Green beans trimmed and lightly cooked and cooled
3 free range eggs lightly poached
2 tspns salted capers rinsed off
4 tbspn Extra virgin avocado oil
2 tspn chopped sundried tomatoes
6 in no cherry tomatoes cut in half
½ red onion finely sliced
150gr cos or iceberg lettuce broken up by hand
12 Kalamata olives pitted
Juice of half a fresh lime
1 tspn Balsamic syrup
¼ tspn Dijon mustard
2 tbspn chopped parsley
350gr fresh tuna steaks or 1 x 400gr tin of tuna in spring water.

METHOD

• To make the dressing .Whisk together balsamic syrup, avocado oil, Dijon mustard lime juice and chopped parsley. Season with sea salt and ground pepper.
• Place broken lettuce, green beans, both tomatoes, onion, olives and capers into a bowl and pour on most of the dressing but reserve a drop to pour on top of the finished dish
• Lightly toss salad together divide into 3 reserving the beans and place abstractly onto your chosen plates
• Brush the tuna steaks with a little extra olive oil and season with lemon pepper and sea salt. Cook on a medium to high grill to sear for 1-2 mins each side depending on thickness. Cook to medium rare at the most, depending on your preference.
• Rest the tuna and place on the prepared salad and top with the reserved green beans and a warm poached egg , drizzle with the reserved dressing and enjoy