Think Like A Chef - Gluten Free Seared Tuna with Roasted Tomato Vinaigrette & Fennel Salad

The next meal to use the roasted tomatoes in the Think Like A Chef series is seared tuna with roasted tomato vinaigrette and fennel salad.  This was a cool meal to make, because the roasted tomatoes were used two ways.

First, the vinaigrette was made by combining, in a blender, two roasted tomato halves, ¼ cup tomato juice, 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.  After the ingredients were pureed, I slowly added ½ cup of extra-virgin olive oil while processing.  After tasting it, it needed more salt and pepper, so I added some, remixed and tasted again.  This time I thought it was fine, so I put that aside.

Next, I had to make the salad.  After taking the core out of a fennel bulb, I used my mandolin to make very thin slices.  Then I combined that with some herb leaves.  I used basil, parsley, and dill.  Now, the recipe calls for mixing the whole concoction with some olive oil, salt and pepper.  Instead, I took a tablespoon of my vinaigrette and combined that with the salad.  My thinking was, it already had the salt and pepper, and it would have a bit of the flavor of the vinaigrette.

Now, in a heavy skillet, I took a tuna steak, which I cut in half, and seared it in a pan, using extra-virgin olive oil, and seasoned very simply with Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.  I seared it for about two minutes on side one and then a minute or so on the second side.  I then transferred it to a cutting board and cut it into slices.

Next came plating.  On the bottom of the plate were chopped roasted tomatoes, the sliced tuna on top, and then the herb salad on top of that.  Finally, I added a very slight drizzle of the vinaigrette.

Better plating!

This was a pretty healthy meal.  If I figured everything out correctly, this dish was 328 calories, and only 7.1 grams of fat.  Total carbs were 17 grams, while having 45.2 grams of protein.  It also had 4 grams of fiber.

The roasted tomato has been an interesting ingredient.  I’ve used it in a few different ways, and it was fun to see how one ingredient can be used so many different ways.  In fact, during the week, we usually eat paninis one day, and we have started to add a roasted tomato half to the sandwich, as it adds much more flavor than a regular slice of tomato.

I am on to the next chapter in the trilogy section on Chef Colicchio’s Think Like A Chef book, which deals with mushrooms.  I will be traveling quite a bit for work over the next few weeks, but I will try to update as much as I can.