THE sun is shining and bringing a much needed boost to our daily lockdown routine, so it's the perfect time to experiment with some fresh and zesty new flavours. On the menu this week is a tuna steak with ceviche sauce – a small yet mighty dish that packs a whole lot of punch and combines fresh Asian-style flavours in a light and fun meal. Make sure you use the freshest tuna you can get your hands on to really bring out those flavours.
Next up, we take a trip to the Mediterranean with a Spanish-inspired baked rice dish bursting with rich chorizo flavour and a herby oil dressing for drizzling on top. Both dishes are super quick and easy to prepare, so you can spend more time soaking up the sun than slaving over the stove.
:: Tuna Steak with Ceviche (Serves 2)
Ingredients
2 tuna steaks approximately 150g each
1 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 tsp soy sauce
2 shallots, finely diced
1 cucumber, cut in half lengthways, deseeded
1 red chili, finely diced, deseeded
2 limes, juiced
Zest of 1 lime
100ml olive oil
1 tblsp coriander, chopped
sea salt and black pepper
:: Method
WHEN cooking at home I always like to add a bit of soy sauce to some dishes as it can add a nice dimension. To start this dish, pour the soy sauce onto a plate and place the tuna steaks on top. Turn over to get the steaks covered.
Place a pan on the hob and heat until really hot, add the rapeseed oil and fry the tuna for about 1 minute each side. I like to cook tuna so that it is still red on the inside, but you can cook a little further on if this is not to your taste.
For the sauce, deseed and finely dice the cucumber and chili. Mix with finely diced shallot in a bowl. Add the olive oil, lime juice, zest and season with salt and pepper.
Ceviche is always thinly sliced, using a sharp knife thinly slice the tuna and place on a large plate. Add the chopped coriander to your cucumber mix and pour over all your fish or serve in a separate side dish if preferred.
Any leftover sauce can be refrigerated for use later and can be served immediately.
:: Baked Rice with Chorizo and Chicken (Serves 4)
Ingredients
300g paella rice, rinsed
400g uncooked chorizo sausage
2 x red peppers, chopped
2 x med onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
4 x skinned chicken thighs, sliced
1 x tin tomatoes
250ml chicken stock
:: Method
START by preheating the oven to 180C. Slice up the chicken breasts and, in a frying pan, cook off in a little rapeseed oil. Once cooked, remove from the pan. Next cut the sausages into 1-inch slices and cook in a large frying pan until brown. In the same pan, cook off the onions and the peppers until translucent.
Place the ingredients in a large casserole pot with the rice, pouring over the tinned tomatoes and stirring thoroughly. Next, add the chicken stock and cook for 30 minutes with the lid on. Season to taste.
To make the herb oil, which is drizzled on top, finely chop 50g of parsley, 25g of spinach, 25g of mint, 3 anchovies, 2 teaspoons of capers in brine and 1 clove of garlic. Add 25ml of olive oil to the mixture and season with salt and pepper. Place in a blender and drizzle over the casserole once ready to serve.
