Recipe: Tuna Provençal Style

Name: Tuna Provençal Style
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 4 beautiful tuna steaks (darnes) about 7 oz (200 g) each; 1.75 oz (50 g) anchovy fillets preserved in olive oil; 1 bay leaf; 3 g thyme flowers; a few fresh mint leaves; 1 onion finely chopped; 1 lemon juice; 2 garlic cloves, debudded, crushed and chopped; 7 oz (200 g) peeled tomatoes, deseeded and roughly chopped; 2 dl olive oil; 1 dl dry white wine; salt and freshly ground pepper

By chef patrick Asfaux 5/5 (3 reviews)

Recipe Tuna Provençal Style - Chef Patrick Asfaux — Photo: Aftouch-cuisine

Prep 20 min

Cook 30 min

Total 50 min

Servings 4 serv.

Anchovies embedded in the tuna flesh, that's the trick for them to melt during cooking without overpowering the dish. Four steaks braised for an hour in a tomato and white wine base, this is the recipe that screams southern France without overdoing it.

Ingredients for 4 servings

Adjust for

servings

4 beautiful tuna steaks (darnes) about 7 oz (200 g) each
1.75 oz (50 g) anchovy fillets preserved in olive oil
1 bay leaf
3 g thyme flowers
a few fresh mint leaves
1 onion finely chopped
1 lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, debudded, crushed and chopped
7 oz (200 g) peeled tomatoes, deseeded and roughly chopped
2 dl olive oil
1 dl dry white wine
salt and freshly ground pepper

Step-by-step directions

1 One hour before : place your 4 tuna steaks on a plate, salt and pepper them, then using a small knife make small notches on the surface to be able to insert a small piece of anchovy fillets into them. Sprinkle with thyme, place the bay leaf cut into 4 pieces on each steak, then drizzle with lemon juice. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for 1 hour.

2 After an hour, pour 1 dl of olive oil into a casserole, brown the tuna steaks on each side, then remove them to a plate.

3 In the same casserole, brown the chopped onion, then add the garlic and tomatoes. Pour in the white wine, bring to a boil, then carefully add your tuna steaks.

4 Cook gently covered for 15 minutes, making sure nothing sticks to the bottom.

5 Carefully remove the central bone and skin from each steak. Serve on beautiful hot plates with the garnish placed on each slice, a little fresh chopped mint on top, accompanied for example with a sauté of garlic courgettes and a chilled Bandol wine. That's the south!

A chef's advice

Forget red wine : braised tuna with tomatoes and anchovies calls for a structured white, not a thin juice. A Bandol white, that's the local appellation, the one that stands up to the briny flavors of the fish and doesn't get crushed by the acidity of the tomatoes. The aromatic character of the rolle grape soothes the saltiness of the anchovies, the final bitterness cleanses the palate. It's technical and it works.