Many people I have spoken to lately have cut back on red meat consumption for one reason or another. This is a recipe I have made for years as a meatless alternative. You won’t miss the meat at all. In fact, some people have questioned whether it was really fish or not!
Ingredients (for 2)
8 oz. thick-cut, fresh tuna steak
sea salt and white pepper
1/2 cup of flour
2 TB olive oil
1 TB butter
2 cloves of garlic
8 oz cremini mushrooms
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 cup dry Madeira
1/3 cup vegetable stock
8 oz broccolini or broccoli rabe
8 oz cooked fresh fettuccine (see my recipe in archives for basic pasta) or purchase good quality pasta
Method
Slice the mushrooms about 1/8″ thick. Trim the broccolini lengthwise towards the bottom remove the tough outer skin. Using a sharp knife, slice the tuna lengthwise through the center, horizontally, giving you two thinner tuna steaks. Place plastic wrap on cutting board with one tuna steak in the center. Cover with more plastic wrap. Pound thin with a meat pounder to about 1/4″ thick or even a little thinner. Don’t worry if it breaks up a little, you can push it back together and it will cook fine. Do the same with the other steak. Season both sides with salt and pepper to taste. Dredge both sides in flour (reserve 1/2 TB of flour for later before you do that). In a large frying pan, heat the oil over medium high heat. Slice the garlic paper thin and place in the hot oil. Don’t walk away! Let the garlic begin to toast slightly and immediately remove to a plate with a slotted spoon. Put the tuna steaks in the pan (you may have to do one at a time) and brown for about a minute and a half on each side. Remove to a plate and keep warm. Put the broccolini in the pan, season with salt and pepper and saute a few minutes until tender. During the last minute of cooking, add the garlic and toss well. Immediately remove to a plate and keep warm. Add the butter to the pan and the mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper and thyme. Do not move them around for about three minutes so they brown nicely. Stir and let the other side brown the same way. Deglaze with the Madeira. It will be steamy! Stir bottom with a wooden spoon to bring up all the flavors on the bottom of the pan. Allow the Madeira to evaporate. Sprinkle reserved flour over mushrooms. Stir. Add stock and let thicken slightly. Place the steaks back in the pan with the mushroom sauce to coat. Serve over the cooked pasta with the broccolini.
