Tuna, Tangelo, Arugula...

Tonight we are having a very easy, but fantastic and impressive sounding meal. I'm doing seared soy sauce-marinaded Ahi Tuna over sauteed arugula and Tangelo pieces with baked sweet potato fries tossed with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and sesame seeds (these tie in the Asian theme). You're not impressed? Ok fine, well I'm impressed when I read what I am making tonight

First step is to buy a really nice piece of Ahi Tuna steak; make sure it doesn't look dull. I'm not quite sure how to explain that better, but I never buy a dull looking piece of fish. And now for the prerequisite disclaimer: "Consuming raw or undercooked meats, poultry, seafood, shellfish or eggs may increase risk of food borne illness." Don't say I didn't warn you! We will be searing the Tuna which means it will still be raw or undercooked in the center.

First I like to marinate the Tuna in Soy Sauce, Lemon Juice, Olive Oil, minced garlic, and a little pepper. My measurements depend on the size of the steak, but usually I use a 2:1 ratio of Soy Sauce to Lemon Juice, then a few glugs of olive oil, 3 cloves of garlic or more, and a few twists of the pepper grinder. Toss the Tuna steak in and put it in the fridge for a couple of hours.

About 25 mins before you sear your tuna, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Wash your sweet potatoes and cut them into fry size sticks. Toss the sticks into a bowl with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and sesame seeds. Make sure all the sweet potato pieces get tossed well to coat evenly. Then place on a cookie sheet and put into the oven for ~20 mins. Baking time will depend on how thick you cut your sticks.

After you put the sweet potatoes in the oven take your tangelo (a tangelo is a cross between a tangerine and a grapefruit, it is what i have in the house, but I think you could use any orange-like fruit here). I peel and then cut up the slices to add to the arugula once it is on the plate.

Just before you sear the tuna You'll need a big bunch of arugula, you will be surprised at how little one bunch of arugula cooks down too. Trim and wash the arugula before you throw it in the saute pan, pour in a little olive oil and 1 minced garlic clove (can you tell I like garlic, garlic in the marinade, garlic in the saute). Put in the arugula and saute on medium heat until the leaves are just beginning to wilt. Remove from heat. Put on your plate.

Now its time to sear the tuna, I'm going to use a double burner griddle that I place atop my gas stove. The heat should be on med-high and I'll sear each side for a couple of mins. Really how long you sear the tuna depends on how raw you want the center to be. Rob likes his tuna just barely seared, so usually his comes off the griddle first and my piece stays on for a few minutes. Slice the tuna with the the grain (makes for easier to cut prettier pieces) and place atop the arugula and tangelo.

Your plate should be a beautiful combination of orange, green, and pink!

And voila that is my meal tonight!