Four Peppercorn Pan-Seared Tuna With A Papaya and Jalapeño Dressing
Papaya was my inspiration.
I was playing in the kitchen with Som Tum ingredients (green papaya salad) and came up with this salad dressing instead: papaya, jalapeno, shallots, brown sugar, a little bit of fish sauce, and grapeseed oil.
Divine. Especially with the blanched and cooled green beans cut into 2-inch pieces that I tossed it with.
This is a must with fish, I thought. More often than not when I set my mind on fish I end up with tuna. It’s not that I don’t like snapper, salmon, and trout. I do. But after browsing the seafood case I came home with tuna, again.
I coated 6 oz.ish piece with with peppercorns, pan-seared it for 2-3 minutes on each side, laid it on a bed of wilted spinach, and tossed on handful of tomatoes.
Definitely divine.
Half of it was perfect for one meal. (Yeah, a serving of protein is considered to be 2-3 oz. If you're thinking about slimming down for the New Year, portion control is an easy start!)
It was just as delicious the next day served cold with another fresh serving of wilted spinach.
Papaya and Jalapeno Dressing
2 tablespoons roughly chopped garlic
1 tablespoon roughly chopped shallots
2 jalapenos, stemmed, seeded, and sliced
1/4 c. papaya, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
zest of 1/2 lime
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
