Coriander Crusted Tuna Steaks
Coriander Crusted Tuna Steaks
A deliciously easy preparation of tuna steaks you don't want to miss! Served with a flavorful coriander crust and avocado salsa, this dish is bursting with flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 TBSP olive or coconut oil
- 1 TSBP butter
- 3 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp cumin
- 3-4 tuna steaks (about 4-5 oz each, 1-cm thick)
- 1 tsp lime zest
- 1 TBSP lime juice
- Sea salt & ground black pepper
- 1 large, ripe but not mushy avocado, cubed
- 2 TBSP chopped cilantro
- 1 TBSP lime juice
- Sea Salt
- **Optional - see Step 4:
- 1 cup trimmed green beans
- 2 cups zoodles
Directions
- Step 1 Season tuna steaks generously with sea salt, black pepper and drizzle with olive oil on both sides. Set aside.
- Step 2 Grind the coriander seeds with a mortar and pestle. Stir in the cumin. Heat up a little oil and butter together in a skillet over medium-high. Add the coriander/cumin powder and the zest of one lime. Stir to combine all flavors.
- Step 3 Add the tuna steaks and turn the heat down to medium. Drizzle with juice from half a lime and cook the tuna for 2 minutes on each side for rare, 3 minutes for slightly more well done. Baste the steaks in the sauce as they cook.
- Step 4 Remove and let the tuna rest before slicing. **If serving with the green beans and zoodles, prep now. Place green beans in a large skillet and pour in 1/4 cup water. Bring to a boil over high heat. As soon as water comes to a boil, cover pan and cook 3 minutes. Uncover pan, and stir in 1 TBSP butter. For the zoodles, make sure you have fully squeezed out all moisture, essentially wringing them out as best you can. Heat grapeseed oil in a large skillet over high heat, add zoodles and fry until just starting to crisp about 2 minutes.
- Step 5 For the avocado salsa, combine avocado, cilantro, a little sea salt and the remaining lime juice, about one TBSP. To serve, place slices of tuna atop zoodles and green beans. Drizzle any remaining pan sauce over the tuna and top with avocado salsa.
The weeknight dinner crunch is one thing that ALL Moms everywhere can appreciate, whether you’re a working mom or SAHM. I never fully understood what my Mom went through in our house week after week to get food on the table, especially when half the family (my dad and sister) were some of the most “selective” eaters I’ve ever met. (Sounds so much nicer to say selective than picky, doesn’t it?)
Meal planning is definitely having it’s “moment” right now, but it’s an art I have not yet totally perfected, mainly because my weeks are highly unpredictable. With Marc starting a new job, switching au pairs and trying to cook for a selective toddler, meal planning will only get me so far these days. Maybe in a few years it will be a more effective approach for us. So until that day – my weeknight dinner strategy rests on two simple principles: simplicity and efficiency. This dish is that to a tee – just a few simple prep steps and a quick sear of the tuna is all you need. Start to finish the meal is on the table in 15 minutes max!
As a blogger, I crave creativity in my meals so while the building blocks of my weekly meals look somewhat the same, from week to week the recipes are different. Usually one night is chicken, one night is meatballs (in some form or another), one night is pork and one night is fish. The other 3 are a toss up and yes, we sometimes resort to take out or eating out instead. My go-to fish is salmon (and you’ll find a lot of salmon recipes on the blog as a result), but tuna steaks are a top second. It’s a just a matter of finding fresh caught tuna at a reasonable price, which doesn’t happen all that often at my local fishmonger. But this week I hit the jackpot with this tuna (isn’t she a beaut!) and I knew I had to do something pretty stellar with it. Enter this coriander crusted tuna steak with chunky avocado salsa, paired with green beans and served on a bed of crispy zoodles.
Coriander is one of those spices that doesn’t get a lot of love. It comes from the seeds of the cilantro plant and since cilantro is one of those love-hate herbs, it’s guilty by association. My sister claims it tastes like soap; I on the other hand could eat cilantro by the handful. Coriander seeds are the plant’s dried fruit and they can be used whole or ground. While they come from the same plant, ground coriander has a more mellow flavor profile than cilantro – I find it is slightly citrusy, which makes it a great pairing for seafood. It also pairs brilliantly with avocado, hence why the avocado salsa became the finishing touch to my dish.
This is one of those dishes that ended up having so many layers of flavor and texture. It really goes to show that you don’t have to sacrifice the quality of a dish for ease and simplicity. It looks like it took double the time to prepare, but really, it’s almost effortless. This dish is healthy, colorful and creative and sure to be a weeknight hit!
