Tuna Steak with Sweet Onions
2 pound slice of white-fleshed tuna cut 1 in thick
salt
2 tablespoons golden raisins
2 teaspoons superfine sugar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 pinches grated nutmeg
4 pinches ground cumin
4 pinches ground cayenne pepper
pepper
1/4 cup pine nuts
dill for garnish
48 small scallions
Ask your fishmonger to cut a slice from just behind the belly of the fish
and to remove the skin and the central bone and all the other bones: this
will give you 4 steaks. Rinse them and pat dry. Sprinkle with salt and leave
to macerate for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, rinse the raisins in hot water and set aside to soak in a bowl
of warm water.
Put the onions into a 10 1/4 inch nonstick sauté pan. Add salt, the sugar,
2 1/2 tablespoons water and 1 tablespoon of the oil. Place the pan over high
heat and cook for 10 minutes, until there is no liquid left and the onions
are coated in an amber-colored caramel. Stir in 1 tablespoon water.
Rinse the tuna steaks, pat dry and brush with the remaining oil. Add the
steaks to the sauté pan, pushing the onions aside. Sprinkle with the nutmeg,
cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper. Drain the raisins and add them to the pan.
Cover and cook for 12 minutes over a gentle heat, turning the fish and the
onions 4 times during the cooking.
Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet until golden.
TO SERVE: When the fish and onions are cooked, transfer them to a serving
plate, garnish with the toasted pine nuts and dill and serve at once. This
dish is also excellent lukewarm or cold.