This is an easy, delicious recipe that takes fewer than 10 minutes to prepare and cook. Although tuna is a very versatile ingredient, it is also a very delicate fish that needs to be cooked properly.

Seared and marinated tuna with kale

Ingredients

  • 250g tuna steak
  • 1 tbsp olive oil

To prepare the marinade:

  • ½ a cup of rapeseed oil
  • 3 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 2 tbsp soya sauce
  • ½ a stick of lemongrass
  • 5g grated ginger
  • ½ a lemon zested

To prepare the garnish and light sauce:

  • 5 spring onions (keep 1 raw for slicing)
  • 35g kale
  • 50g Greek yoghurt
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • ½ a garlic clove
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • A pinch of paprika
  • A handful of coriander cress
  • Salt and pepper

Method:

  1. Place the tuna steaks in a shallow dish. Whisk together the oil, rice vinegar and soya sauce in a small mixing bowl. Add the roughly chopped lemongrass, ginger and zest to the liquid mix. Pour the marinade over the tuna making sure the steaks are completely covered.
  2. Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge for a couple of hours.
  3. Rinse and trim the kale and spring onions before using. Then place a saucepan with butter over a medium heat and roast the kale for approx. 3 to 5 minutes. Once the leaves turn from a dusty green to a dark emerald with brown curly edges, add the grated garlic to the pan. Season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat.
  4. Place a small frying pan over a medium heat with a drizzle of olive oil. Slice the spring onions in half and place them in the pan. Cook the vegetables for a couple of minutes on both side until golden brown and tender.
  5. Tuna can dry out very quickly and lose its delicate taste if overcooked. Remove the tuna from the marinade and lightly pat with absorbing paper before seasoning with salt and pepper. Heat up the olive oil in large frying pan over a medium to high heat.
  6. Once the pan is nice and hot place the steaks inside and do not touch for the next 2 minutes. When the tuna no longer sticks to the pan it’s ready to be flipped and seared for a further 2 minutes on the other side. The flesh must stay pink and warm inside.
  7. To create a light and tasty sauce, whisk together the yogurt, mustard and finely sliced spring onion. Season with salt, pepper and a pinch of paprika. Dress with coriander cress.

Matching wines

Excellent value for money, the Araldica, Madonnina Gavi 2013 is a delicate and floral white wine from the Piedmont region in Italy. Fresh and predominantly citrus flavoured, this Italian wine is the perfect match for this vibrant and delicious dish.

Tuna is a meaty fish which adapts well to medium bodied white wines. This is why I suggest a Domaine Michel Bouzereau, Bourgogne Blanc 2013. A lively Chardonnay full of peach and apricot aromas that would go hand in hand with this original recipe.

Produced and grown in the Basque region close to where the tuna is caught; the Arretxea, Irouleguy Blanc, Hegoxuri 2013 is worth every single penny. This subtle white wine with exotic fruit flavours sublimes this simple dish.

Wines to drink with seared and marinated tuna with kale by Michel Roux Jr.

Araldica, Madonnina Gavi 2013: Fantastically vibrant, with a crisp citrusy freshness from the lime and grapefruit flavours, this white was hand crafted in the south-east corner of Piedmont. Clean and refreshing it cuts beautifully against the heat of the paprika and meatiness of the tuna. RRP: £9.99 Virgin Wines

Domaine Michel Bouzereau, Bourgogne Blanc 2013: With wonderful stone fruit flavours such as peach and apricot, this beautifully shimmering white wine has a beautiful sweetness that complements the herbaciousness of the dish.

RRP: £22 Berry Bros & Rudd

Arretxea, Irouleguy Blanc, Hegoxuri 2013: This complex wine is made from indigenous grapes of the Basque region and layer the palate with a range of flavours and aromas that just keep giving. Full of fruity notes such as melon, mango and citrus, this golden wine even has hints of espresso on the nose.

RRP: £23.98 Vivino

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Michel Roux Jr
Michel Roux Jr
Columnist
Michel Roux Jr was born in 1960 in Pembury, Kent, where his father Albert Roux worked as a private chef for the Cazalet family. His earliest food memories are the smells of the Fairlawne kitchen – pastry, sugar caramelizing and stews – where he played under the table while his father and mother Monique prepared the meals. After deciding to follow in his father’s footsteps, he left school at 16 for the first of several challenging apprenticeships at Maître Patissier, Hellegouarche in Paris from 1976 to 1979. He was then Commis de Cuisine at Alain Chapel’s signature restaurant at Mionay near Lyon, Michel’s biggest influence. His military service was spent in the kitchens at the Elysée Palace at the time of Presidents Giscard d’Estaing and François Mitterrand. He also spent time at Boucherie Lamartine and Charcuterie Mothu in Paris, and the Gavers Restaurant in London. After a stint at the Mandarin Hotel in Hong Kong he returned to London and worked at La Tante Claire before joining the family business. He took over running Le Gavroche in 1991, gradually changing the style of cooking to his own – classic French with a lighter, modern twist. Michel opened Roux at Parliament Square in May 2010 with Restaurant Associates, part of the Compass Group UK and Ireland. And in November 2010, he opened Roux at The Landau at London’s prestigious luxury hotel, The Langham. Michel was a judge and presenter on the BBC’s popular prime time show, MasterChef: The Professionals, and presented all series of ‘Great British Food Revival.’  Michel fronted BBC2’s ‘Food and Drink,’ in 2014 and presented a documentary on Escoffier, whose revolutionary approach to fine cuisine has inspired Michel and many others. In the same year, Michel went on a journey to create the perfect chocolate for the Le Gavroche Kitchen.  Filmed by the BBC, in Paris he discovered chocolatiers, Cacao Barry and their Or Noir Lab. In 2013, Michel launched his most recent cookbook, ‘The French Kitchen’.  Focusing on traditional French home cooking, this is the fifth solo cookery book from Michel. He is involved with the Roux Experience courses at the ‘Cactus Kitchens’ cookery school, with the Executive producer of Saturday Kitchen, Amanda Ross. Cactus Kitchens offers people the opportunity to learn to cook within small intimate groups from some of the UK’s finest chefs, on site above the Saturday Kitchen studios. Michel has fronted a brand new four-part Channel 4 series, ‘The Diner’, exploring the hurdles faced by people with disabilities and mental health issues when finding employment. Michel also recently presented a new program on his first ever project with the Disney Channel.  ‘First Class Chefs’ which launched in June 2015, is a show where kids aged 9-11 compete to showcase their restaurant skills.