How to Prepare Seared Tuna With Roasted Fennel

I made the mistake of putting a fennel bulb in an opaque container in my refrigerator…which means it lost its crisp outer beauty because without having it in clear view, I forgot about it. But I can still cook with it after removing anything undesirable. Zero waste cooking steered me in the direction of a Mediterranean themed dinner and suggested how to prepare the fish I had selected.

Once I decided I didn’t need to add a grain or starch to this meal, I decided to slice half a turnip into about the same sized pieces as the fennel. I had enough sweetness going on with the fennel and tomatoes, so why not add a little radishy something for an interesting counterpart to beef up my veggie dish? Roasted radishes are a fantastic side served with fish too, by the way…but I digress…

Tossed the sliced fennel and turnip with some olive oil and salt. Put into a casserole dish and topped with some grated parmesan. Added tomatoes about halfway through cooking time.

I had defrosted some albacore tuna steaks in the refrigerator overnight, so I coated them with panko bread crumbs and cooked for about a minute on each side in a preheated skillet with grapeseed oil. I wanted them to remain medium rare inside because cooking them further would dry them out. Don’t be afraid of undercooking these. Overcooking is the bigger crime. You can always put them back into the skillet if needed, but you can’t undo overcooking.

After removing from the skillet, I let the fish rest and made a quick sauce in the same skillet with olive oil from a jar of anchovies (hello, umami), sauteed garlic and kalamata olives. Very simple, but it added a delicate finishing touch. An important element in learning how to prepare fish.

Here’s What I Needed To Use

• albacore
• fennel
• tomatoes
• turnip

What would you do with these ingredients?

For another suggestion on searing tuna, please read Ahi Tataki next.