Thon à la Basquaise

Or Tuna steak on tasty sauce.

A recipe from the French Nouvelle-Aquitaine or the French part of the Basque country. The shared history with its Spanish bretheren.

I was there a couple of years ago on a food trip and visited both parts.

Fresh tuna was no where in sight and I had to opt for frozen tuna steaks. But they are not so easy to come by either. Luckily we have a supercenter REWE and they had it in stock.

This kind of sauce reminds me of the one I served with meatballs not very long ago. Blog is live on the 28th of August.

In the future I will exchange this kind of sauce with the typical tomato ones. This is more fragrant, fruity and richer. 

Recipe for 2 :

2 tuna steaks defrosted

1/4 cup Polenta semolina

2 red onions

3 garlic cloves

1 jar of roasted red peppers

10 cherry tomatoes

200 ml tomato passata

50 ml Noilly Prat

Olive oil

1 tbsp piment d'Espelette

Smoked paprika

Thyme, salt and pepper

Peel onions and garlic and chop. Cut the cherry tomatoes once or twice depending on their size. Take the smoked paprika out of the jar and drain them, chop.

In a wide pan heat up some olive oil and start the onions. After 4 min, add garlic, tomatoes and peppers. Cook 3 min. Season with thyme, salt and pepper.

Next comes the tomato passata and the Noilly Prat. Add Piment d'Espelette and smoked paprika.

Coat the dried tuna steaks with salt and pepper and polenta flour. Bake them in olive oil on both sides 3 min each. 

Serve with rice or baguette