Disaster and Success! Seared Tuna recipe

We had a guest for dinner last night and despite a carefully planned menu and much preparation nothing was as good as I had hoped. Isn't it always the way when you have guests! Sorry Jacki. Last night's menu started with one of the dishes from our degustation meal at Number 5 - caramelised onion topped with goat cheese on a pastry base, followed by seafood risotto topped with salmon and prawns with fennel salad, then white chocolate creme brûlée. The creme brûlée is one of the desserts I make a lot and ALWAYS works well. Last night I learned that when a recipe says caster sugar it probably can't be substituted with normal sugar! Pictures at bottom...they look better than it tasted.

Tonight however, for a simple family dinner I made a seared tuna dish that I had quickly found on the Cuisine Online website - a picture of my version on the top left of this post. Their dishes sometimes require a few ingredients and a little bit of prep but are usually well worth the little bit of extra effort. I probably should have cooked the tuna a bit less (or followed the recipe more closely!), and new seasons potato and peas would have been better, but apart from that it was really nice.

Seared Tuna, Potatoes, Peas and Avocado

Ingredients

For the peas & potatoes

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons lemon juice, strained

1 large red chilli, deseeded and finely

1 tablespoon lemon zest

salt

freshly ground black pepper

16 baby waxy potatoes, boiled in salted water until tender, then cut in half

1 cup peas, boiled in salted water until tender

2 spring onions, finely sliced

1/2 cup coriander leaves

2 avocados, sliced

For the tuna

800g tuna loin, cut into 4 steaks

2 tablespoons lemon zest

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt

freshly ground black pepper Do all your zesting, juicing, slicing and chopping first then cook the potatoes. When the potatoes are cooked, cook your peas and tuna so that your salad and the tuna are ready at the same time. Method For the peas & potatoes In a large bowl, combine 1?4 cup of the olive oil with the lemon juice, chilli, lemon zest and plenty of salt and pepper. Add the hot potatoes and peas, the spring onions and coriander leaves, then mix well. Divide the avocado among 4 plates and then spoon the potato and pea mixture over the top. Add the seared tuna and drizzle each serving with the remaining olive oil.chopped For the tuna Coat the tuna steaks with the lemon zest, olive oil, salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Sear the tuna in a hot pan or on the barbecue, cooking 2 minutes on each side or until cooked to the desired doneness (I prefer my tuna very rare). The cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of the tuna fillet. Slice as desired. Serves 4 as a main.