Seared tuna salad with roast aubergine and baby potatoes

Instructions

1. 1

   Place baby new potatoes in a saucepan, cover with cold water, add a pinch of sea salt and bring to the boil. Simmer until just tender when pierced with a knife, about 12 minutes. Drain in a colander and leave to steam-dry for 2 minutes.

2. 2

   Slice the aubergine into 1 cm rounds, lay on kitchen paper, sprinkle both sides lightly with sea salt and leave for 20 minutes to draw out excess moisture.

3. 3

   Preheat the oven to 200°C fan/220°C conventional. Toss the drained potatoes with 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and a little black pepper, spread on a baking tray and roast for 25 minutes until golden and crisp at the edges.

4. 4

   Brush the aubergine slices with 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, transfer to a baking tray and roast in the hot oven for 20 minutes until tender and caramelised. Turn once halfway through.

5. 5

   Make the dressing: zest and juice the lemons, then whisk together the lemon juice and zest, Dijon mustard, honey, crushed garlic, 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of sea salt and black pepper until emulsified.

6. 6

   Trim and very thinly slice the fennel, halve the cherry tomatoes, thinly slice the red onion and roughly chop the parsley. In a large bowl combine rocket, fennel, cherry tomatoes, red onion, capers and flatleaf parsley, and toss with half the dressing.

7. 7

   Heat a frying pan until very hot. Rub the tuna steaks with a little extra virgin olive oil, season with sea salt and black pepper and sear for 90 seconds on each side for rare (adjust 30–60 seconds per side for more well done).

8. 8

   Transfer the tuna to a board and rest for 5 minutes before slicing thinly across the grain.

9. 9

   To assemble: pile the dressed salad onto a platter, scatter the roast potatoes and aubergine over the top, place sliced tuna across the salad, drizzle with the remaining dressing, scatter extra capers and parsley and finish with a pinch of sea salt and a grind of black pepper. Serve immediately.

Tips

• Pat aubergine slices thoroughly after salting; if you skip this the slices will steam and turn soggy rather than golden.
• If you prefer no-waste cooking, roast the aubergine and potatoes on the same tray — keep the aubergine to the edges and check earlier for caramelisation.
• To check tuna doneness without slicing, press the side of the steak: very soft = rare, slightly springy = medium-rare. Tuna cooks fast so watch the time.
• Make the dressing up to 24 hours ahead and store in the fridge; bring to room temperature and whisk before using.
• Leftovers keep in the fridge for 24–48 hours; store dressing separately and reheat potatoes briefly if you want them warm again.

Substitutions

• fresh tuna steaks → fresh salmon steaks, same weight, sear to medium

  Stays close

• aubergine → courgette, sliced into 1 cm rounds and roasted for 12–15 minutes

  Noticeably different

• fresh tuna steaks → good-quality tinned tuna in olive oil, drained and flaked (add at assembly rather than searing)

  Noticeably different

Nutrition

Per serving · estimated

430

Calories

33 g

Protein

32 g

Carbs

19 g

Fat

5 g

Fibre

6 g

Sugar

700 mg

Sodium

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