Tuna Provencale Recipes

PROVENCAL TUNA SANDWICHES

Steps:

• Whisk the olive oil, vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper in a large bowl. Add the red onion; set aside.
• Rub the inside of the bread pieces with the garlic, then with the halved tomato and season with salt and pepper; discard the garlic and tomato skins. Arrange the tomato slices on the bread bottoms.
• Add the tuna to the vinaigrette, breaking it into pieces. Stir in the bell pepper, cucumber, parsley and capers; season with salt and pepper. Divide the mixture among the bread bottoms. Close the sandwiches and press down on the bread tops gently. Wrap the sandwiches tightly in plastic wrap and place a heavy skillet on top. Let sit 15 minutes to soften the bread, then unwrap and cut in half.

TUNA PROVENCALE

Steps:

• Combine 2 tablespoons olive oil, cumin, fennel seeds, garlic, thyme leaves, and lime zest; season, to taste, with pepper. Rub the marinade all over the tuna steaks. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, fennel, a pinch of cumin, and a pinch of fennel seeds and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes (don't let the vegetables brown). Add the zucchini and bell peppers, season to taste with salt and pepper, and continue to cook for 5 minutes.
• Separately, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the fava beans and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the cherry tomatoes, orange segments, lemon zest and segments, half of the basil leaves, olives, and pistachios.
• While the vegetables are cooking, heat a grill pan over high heat. Brush the pan with vegetable oil and grill the tuna steaks for 4 minutes on each side for medium rare. Let rest for 5 minutes before cutting each steak into 4 slices.
• Divide the vegetables among 4 warm dinner plates. For each plate, top with the remaining basil leaves and put 2 slices of tuna on top of the vegetables. Season the tuna with fleur de sel and spoon the citrus-fava mixture around the plate. Serve immediately.

SEARED TUNA WITH TIAN OF PROVENCAL VEGETABLES

Steps:

• For the vegetable tian: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9 by 13-inch ceramic or glass baking dish. In a small bowl, combine the oil with the thyme, garlic, salt, and pepper.
• Arrange half of the vegetables in rows in the dish, interspersing the different types until the bottom of the dish is covered. Drizzle with half of the oil mixture. Make a final layer of mixed vegetables, and drizzle with the remaining oil mixture. Cover the top of the vegetables with lightly oiled parchment paper. Bake until the vegetables are tender, about 40 minutes.
• Remove the vegetable tian from the oven, keep warm in a warm place, and increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees F.
• For the tuna: Season the tuna with the salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add the tuna and cook, turning once, until seared on both sides, about 2 minutes. Uncover the tian and place the seared tuna fillets on top of the vegetables, spacing them evenly. Bake, uncovered, until the tuna is rare to medium-rare, about 5 minutes. Spoon equal amounts of the sauce in the centers of 6 warmed plates. Using a wide spatula, lift portions of the tuna and vegetables and transfer to the plates.
• For the sauce: Place the tomato confit, garlic confit, water, salt and pepper in a blender and process on high speed. With the machine running, drizzle in the oil and blend until the sauce is emulsified, about 1 minute. Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in the parsley and thyme. Set aside at room temperature
• Place the tomatoes in a colander and toss with the salt. Let drain at room temperature for 2 hours. Pat the tomatoes dry with paper towels. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Place the tomatoes, garlic, and rosemary in a nonreactive 2-quart saucepan. Add enough oil to cover the tomatoes. Cover the saucepan and bake until the tomatoes are very tender, but not falling apart, about 3 hours. Drain, discard the garlic and rosemary, and set the tomato confit aside for the sauce. (The tomato confit can be prepared up to 3 days in advance, covered and refrigerated.)
• Place the garlic cloves and 2 cups cold water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Drain. Repeat the procedure 2 more times. Return the drained garlic cloves to the saucepan and add the oil. Bring to a bare simmer over very low heat. Cook until the garlic is tender, about 40 minutes. Cool completely. Transfer to a 1-pint canning jar, add enough oil to cover the garlic, and seal. (The garlic confit can be prepared up to 3 weeks in advance, covered and refrigerated.)

TUNA PROVENCAL

Steps:

• In a large bowl flake tuna with a fork. Stir in capers, black olives, onion and tomatoes. Pour in oil and vinegar and toss to coat. Season and serve with watercress on whole grain bread. Alternative: Arrange mixed greens on plate and top with a quartered boiled new potato, quartered boiled egg and steamed green beans. In center place a scoop of the tuna salad.

TUNA PROVENCAL SANDWICHES

Steps:

• Trim stems from broccoli heads and steam heads until they are tender but still firm, about 5 minutes, depending on size. Drain and cut into bite-size pieces. Drain again.
• Combine broccoli, tuna, olives, onion, marjoram, vinegar, yogurt and mayonnaise and mix well.
• Spread each slice of bread with 1 1/2 teaspoons of mustard.
• Place three slices of tomato on three slices of bread. Top with tuna mixture and remaining bread.

TUNA PROVENCALE ON A BAGUETTE

Steps:

• Mix tomatoes, olives and salt in a medium bowl and let stand until juicy, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cut bread almost in half lengthwise. Open like a book, being careful not to separate bread. Pull our about 1/2 a cup of soft bread center.
• Using 1/2 TBS of oil, brush the cut sides on the bread, then spread on tomato mixture and any juices that have collected in the bowl.
• Cut onion in half through stem end, then crosswise into thin semi-circles.
• Layer onion, green pepper slices and tuna over tomato mixture.
• Whisk vinegar, garlic, anchovy paste and remaining oil together and drizzle over tuna.
• Wrap stuffed loaf tightly in plastic wrap and weigh it down with a heavy skillet and let stand at room temp till ingredients have soaked into the bread, about 30 minutes.
• Cut diagonally into 4 sandwiches.

TUNA SANDWICHES PROVENCAL

Steps:

• Whisk together mayonnaise, capers, mustard, anchovy paste, tomato paste, pepper, and 1 tablespoon vinegar in a bowl.
• Drain oil from tuna into a bowl and whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar. Brush insides of all roll halves generously with mixture.
• Add tuna to mayonnaise mixture and stir to combine.
• Make sandwiches with lettuce, tomato, egg, and tuna mixture on a work surface. Weight sandwiches with a heavy cutting board, large plate, or platter for about 10 minutes.

PROVENCAL TUNA MELT

Steps:

• Drain about 1/2 of the olive oil from the tuna. Scrape tuna and remaining oil into a mixing bowl. Add bell pepper, scallions, capers, and thyme. Add lemon juice, mayonnaise, and red pepper flakes. Stir gently to combine.
• Set an oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven's broiler.
• Lay bread slices crust-sides up on an unlined baking sheet. Brush with olive oil. Broil until nicely browned, about 1 minute.
• Turn bread slices over with tongs and divide the tuna filling between 2 slices. Arrange Asiago cheese over the other two slices. Return to broiler. Heat until cheese is bubbly and golden brown and filling is hot, about 2 minutes.
• Remove from oven. Use tongs to turn the cheese-topped slices over on top of those spread with filling. Slice tuna melts in half and serve immediately.