History
Tuna, humans have cooked tuna since the dawn of man. It is a widespread, easily accessible fish that has been forever popular in cultures from Asia to Europe in centuries past, and widely popular in contemporary America as well as other parts of the world.
Risotto: In 1574, Valerius was an artistic apprentice who worked on creating the main stained-glass window for the Duomo Di Milano. The Milanese mocked him for his use of yellow throughout the piece; as vengeance he poured a huge amount of saffron into his master’s wedding dish to ruin his meal and the celebration. In actuality, and as part of the myth, the dish was a huge success! Saffron was a staple of risotto and part of its founding, however the dish has evolved and become widely diverse worldwide with infinite variations like the one you’ll find below! BELLISSIMO!
Ingredients
For the Risotto:
¼ cup diced sweet onion
¼ cup diced red onion
4 diced garlic cloves
½ cup dry white wine
Dash of saffron (OPTIONAL)
2 cups Arborio rice
2 cups of chicken stock
¼ cup halved grape tomatoes
¼ cup roughly chopped marinated artichoke hearts
¼ cup diced red pepper
¼ yellow pepper
½ cup assorted olives
¼ cup sun dried tomatoes
¼ cup peppadew peppers
2 tbsp butter
For the Tuna:
Tuna Steak
1 lemon
¼ cup olives
Panko Breadcrumbs for dredging
Salt and Pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Fresh Basil
Directions
In a large stovetop pan on medium, bring a glug of olive oil to heat. Add your diced sweet onion, red onion, and garlic. Cook until they turn translucent. Add the wine (make sure to take a sip for yourself!). Cook for roughly 4-5 minutes until the wine cooks off. This is optional, but you can add the saffron at this stage (saffron is one of the most expensive spices on the planet, remember, a little goes a long way!). Add your rice! Stir until the rice begins to become translucent. Add a ladle full of broth at a time until it basically cooks off, then keep adding ladle by ladle until the rice is cooked and has a slight bite to it. (You may need more broth; it depends on o how your rice soaks up the broth and how fast it cooks.) STIR CONSTANTLY! This process will take 25-30 minutes! Slow and steady win the race in this recipe.
For the stir mix that will be added to the risotto, bring a glug of olive oil to high heat, then turn your heat down to medium. Add the diced peppers, artichokes, halved grape tomatoes, and your olives.
Let us quickly talk about the olive choice… you can pick whatever you please! I personally went to the olive bar and picked out the most diverse variety I could… All I ask is that at least one type of green olive makes it into this dish... its just so Mediterranean! Cook down for 7-9 minutes.
For the drizzle sauce, bring a glug of olive oil to heat, then turn to medium heat. Add some olives, the peppadew peppers, sun dried tomatoes, a glug of white wine (my favorite), and the butter. Let this mixture cook down for 10-13 minutes until it begins to slightly thicken.
Add the stir mix to the risotto with a spoonful of butter. Stir. Leave on low heat.
For the tune steak, lightly dredge it on panko breadcrumbs with salt and pepper. In a pan, bring your olive oil to heat and add lemon slices and olives. Once the lemons begin to golden, add the tuna steak. Now listen to me… I have made this error trying to learn how to cook this fish… ONLY COOK EACH SIDE FOR 45 SECONDS!!! Trust me, that is all you need… you will get a perfect cook every time! IMMEDIATELY take off hear and serve over the risotto. Drizzle the butter sauce on top of the fish.
Official Statement
Today you have a pan seared tuna steak with a olive infused Mediterranean Risotto.
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