This refreshing starter will pique the appetite for the main course.
This refreshing starter will pique the appetite for the main course. While there’s precious little cooking involved, you need to keep on top of timing to maximise taste and texture. The marinated tuna takes just two hours for the flavours to develop, but the tomatoes are best marinated overnight in a simple mix of olive oil, garlic and salt before being carefully roasted in a very low oven.
When buying tuna, plump for the freshest fish possible -- it should be a deep red and possess a firm texture, with a well-defined grain to the flesh. I recommend yellowfin for this recipe but there are other varieties available, albacore, skipjack and bigeye being the most popular after yellowfin.
The bluefin is another variety which is highly prized but is sadly threatened by overfishing and therefore can’t be recommended.
If you can’t find espelette pepper, a speciality in south-west France and the Basque region, a mild chilli powder is a good alternative.
Marinated yellowfin tuna with baby vine tomatoes
Serves 4
200g baby tomatoes on the vine
4tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, sliced
500g fresh yellowfin tuna loin
1 pinch of espelette pepper
Olive oil to drizzle over the tuna
1tsp chives, finely chopped
Half a lemon
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Set the oven to 120C/gas mark 0.5.
Lay the tomatoes on the vine on a large dish. Spoon the olive oil over them and season with a good pinch of sea salt. Place the garlic slices over the tomatoes and leave to marinate, overnight if possible. Place the dish in the oven and leave to cook for 15 minutes so the tomatoes become slightly soft and juicy, then remove from the oven and leave to cool.
Cut the tuna into four even slices and place them on a serving dish. Drizzle each slice with a little olive oil and season them with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper. Cover the dish of tuna with clingfilm and refrigerate for 2 hours to marinate.
Remove the clingfilm from the tuna and sprinkle a pinch of espelette pepper evenly over the top of each slice. Place the tomatoes on top and finish with chives and freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Wine match
2009 Fiano Di Avellino, Campania, Villeneuve Wines, £11.08
Made from vines grown in volcanic soil near Vesuvius, this yields spicy, nutty flavours and aromas through to a honeyed aftertaste.
The Honours, 58a North Castle Street, Edinburgh. Visit www.thehonours.co.uk or call 0131 220 2513.
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