madbaker | Tuna of Yet Another Sort

This week's Resolution Recipe: Seared Tuna and Asparagus Salad

two 4-6 oz tuna fillets
1 T mixed herbs (I used fresh oregano from our CSA box and dried Fines Herbes)
1 T water
2 T balsamic vinegar
3 T olive oil
1/2 red bell pepper, minced
2 green onions or 1/2 red onion (I used a minced shallot)
1/2 lb asparagus
1/2 bunch lettuce, torn
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

Mix herbs with water; whisk in vinegar and oil, then add bell pepper and onion and stir well. Bring 2 cups water to a boil and add asparagus. Cook two minutes for thin spears, three for large; blanch in ice water to stop cooking.

Sprinkle tuna with salt and pepper. Heat a pan to quite hot and add 1 tsp olive oil. Place tuna in pan and cook for three minutes, then flip and cook another three.

While tuna is cooking assemble salad: divide lettuce on two places, then add the asparagus. Ring with cut tomatoes. Drizzle with half the dressing. Slide the tuna onto the salad and drizzle the remainder of the dressing over the fillets.

What worked: This was tasty and a nice cool summer dish. Also very pretty (see below). It looked far better than the relatively minor effort expended.

What didn't: Um... I was pretty happy with it. The timing could have been better - the hot weather killed the good asparagus so I had to buy commercial stuff instead of the really good asparagus from the farmers' market. Does that count?

Will I make it again? Definitely. Especially as a showy impress-people dish.

Tuna. It's what's for dinner.