Thursday, August 28, 2008

Pan-Seared Tuna with Mediterranean Wine Sauce

This is courtesy of a Cooking Light recipe. I omitted the orange juice.

Pan-Seared Tuna with Mediterranean Wine Sauce

1 cup dry white wine, divided
8 sun-dried tomato halves, packed without oil
1 tablespoon orange juice
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon grated orange rind
2 garlic cloves, crushed
4 (6-ounce) tuna steaks (about 1 inch thick)
Cooking spray
3 tablespoons chopped pitted Greek olives
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
2 cups hot cooked angel hair (about 4 ounces uncooked pasta)
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Combine 1/2 cup wine and tomato halves in a 1-cup glass measure. Cover with plastic wrap, and vent. Microwave at high 1 1/2 minutes or until mixture boils; let stand, covered, 15 minutes. Strain tomatoes through a sieve into a bowl, reserving liquid; chop tomatoes. Add chopped tomatoes, 1/2 cup wine, and orange juice to the reserved tomato liquid; set aside.

Place fennel seeds and peppercorns in a spice or coffee grinder; process until finely ground. Pour into a small bowl; stir in 1 teaspoon oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, orange rind, and garlic. Spread spice mixture evenly over 1 side of each tuna steak. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat; add steaks, crust sides down, to skillet. Cook for 5 minutes on each side or until fish is medium-rare or desired degree of doneness. Remove from heat; keep warm. Add wine mixture, 1/4 teaspoon salt, olives, and black pepper to skillet; cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 3 minutes). Combine pasta, 1 teaspoon oil, and cheese in a bowl; toss well. Serve tuna over pasta; drizzle with wine sauce.

2 comments:

Cate said...

That looks great! Anything with tuna steaks is a hit with me.

Erin said...

Tuna is one of my favorite types of fish; I just had it for dinner tonight. The Mediterranean flavors sound great!