Fresh Tuna Steak Nicoise Salad with Herb Dressing

I felt like something clean for dinner last night, and light too, because I had managed to eat pretty much my bodyweight in eggs, bacon and sausages at brunch. However, it was cold and foggy outside so I also wanted something hot…?

Solution! Fresh tuna steaks on salad! This was truly and utterly just so yummy that I am sort of salivating a little bit just writing about it. There is only one thing I would change in what I did, and that would be to make more of the marinade/dressing because as it was I  had to lick the bowl. So to prevent any of you looking like crazed labradors in your kitchen, I have doubled it here already.

This is so easy, and also complete in terms of nutrition that it is a sure fire winner. I hope you like it! Let me know what you think.

Serves 2:

• 10 baby potatoes
• 4 heaped tbs chopped basil
• 4 heaped tbs chopped coriander
• juice of 2 lemons
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 tbs olive oil
• 1/2-1 teaspoon angelsea salt/rock salt/maldon salt
• large pile of baby leaf salad mix (or baby spinach or rocket)
• 5 medium cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 4 anchovy fillets, roughly torn
• handful of mixed olives
• 1/2 red onion, finely sliced
• handful flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• small handful of marinated red peppers, roughly chopped
• 1/2 avocado
• 2 thick cut tuna steaks (about 1 inch wide each)
• 2-3 eggs
• large handful green beans

Wash the little potatoes and slice them each in half. Cover in a little olive oil and salt and pepper and roast for 30 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius.

While these are roasting, combine the lemon juice, garlic, olive oil and chopped basil and coriander and salt. Add some cracked pepper and set half of it aside. Add the tuna steaks to the other half and turn them around to coat them in the marinade. Set aside on the bench. (you will notice that lemon juice will immediately start ‘cooking’ the tuna. if you have a super fresh piece  and feel like some carpacio, you can slice a few slivers, as thinly as your sharpest knife will allow and eat them as is…truly delicious!)

In a saucepan, put 2-3 eggs in water and bring to the boil. For soft-boiled eggs, once it is boiling, leave them for 6 minutes, (to set the yolk but it still be soft go for eight minutes) then rinse with cold water.

Combine the salad mix, tomatoes, anchovies, olives, parsley, red onion, marinated peppers, and avocado. Wash and trim the green beans and either microwave them for 1 minute, then cover them with water and ice (to retain their crisp green colour and texture) or sautee them in a small frying pan until just cooked. Once they are cooled, add them to the salad.

When your potatoes are 5 minutes away from being done, get a grill plate to hot and brush with a little olive oil. Scrape the excess marinade from the tuna steaks and sear them on each side for about 1-2 minutes. Slice the tuna steaks with the grain into thick strips and coat with the original marinade. Place the fish on top of the salad and crack black pepper over everything.

Place the hot potatoes around the salad and slice up the soft egg and add it to the mix. Using the marinade that was set aside, drizzle this over the salad and serve.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.