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Spicy Seared Ahi Tuna Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing

Spicy Seared Ahi Tuna Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing


What better way to celebrate something special than with a healthy, flavorful dish like this Spicy Seared Ahi Tuna Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing?

This dish was inspired by a seared tuna salad I recently enjoyed with my friend Michelle Patterson at a lovely restaurant called Artin's located at The Shops at Legacy in Plano, Texas. Artin's has an upscale yet warm and inviting atmosphere and elegant, creative menu. If you happen to be in Plano, make plans to have a meal at Artin's - lunch or dinner - you can't go wrong.

Here's my version of the dish I enjoyed (in case you haven't noticed, I like spicy..so my version has a hint of that):

Spicy Seared Ahi Tuna Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing

Serves 2 with extra dressing for dipping

Ingredients:
8 ounce wild caught fresh Ahi tuna steak (I used Hawaiian Bigeye, ask your fishmonger for tuna that is suitable to eat raw)
1 Tablespoon black sesame seeds
1 Tablespoon sesame seeds
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Himalayan pink salt
1 teaspoon coconut oil

Salad:
4 cups organic mixed greens (I used a blend of spring greens and baby spinach)
2-3 Tablespoons shelled edamame (leave out for Paleo)
3 Tablespoons diced red bell pepper (optional)
fresh lime (optional)

Dressing/Dipping Sauce (makes 1/2 cup):
1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon O Ginger Rice Vinegar (O Yuzu Rice Vinegar would work well, too, or any rice vinegar)
1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
1 1/2 Tablespoons tahini paste (I used Artisana Organic Tahini that I found at Whole Foods, but any tahini paste will work)
1 Tablespoon honey
1 large clove garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon finely minced fresh ginger (less than a one inch knob)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Sesame Ginger Dressing
Whisk all the dressing/dipping sauce ingredients together until emulsified and well blended.

My daughter Alexa got me this really cool dressing mixer for Christmas which made easy work of emulsifying the dressing:

emulstir by chef'n available at Williams Sonoma

Sesame Ginger Dressing

Spicy Seared Ahi Tuna
Sprinkle both sides of the tuna steak with kosher salt.

beautiful Hawaiian Bigeye Ahi Tuna

In small bowl mix the black and regular sesame seeds and crushed red pepper together.

sesame seed, crushed red pepper mix

Using your hands, coat both sides of the tuna with the sesame seed mixture. Pat and press to be sure it's well coated.

coated and ready to sear

Heat non-stick skillet to high and add canola oil to coat bottom of pan. Skillet should be extremely hot, then place sesame-coated tuna in pan and allow to sear for 45 seconds then flip and sear another 45 seconds.


perfectly seared on the outside and rare on the inside

Remove from pan and slice.

Pulling it all together:
Mix ingredients for salad (mixed greens, edamame, bell pepper) together and toss with a small amount of dressing. Arrange on plates and top with the sliced tuna. Serve with extra dressing on the side to dip your tuna in.

I also like to drizzle fresh squeezed lime juice on my salad but be careful not to do this until just as you are eating or the tuna will begin to turn white from the acid of the lime juice. It won't hurt anything if it turns white, it's purely an aesthetic thing.


Spicy Seared Ahi Tuna Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing





Wine Pairing


2009 Pazo Serantellos Albarino
$12 at Whole Foods


This Spanish Albarino is crisp, light and a little on the dry side, but with a hint of citrus. It pairs nicely with the spicy fresh tuna.

42 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness..that looks amazing!!! What a photo!!! Veronica, you did great job!

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  2. gorgeous! this looks so delicious and full of flavor- healthy and irresistable...great way to start off the new year! time to pull it in and eat some healthy food...

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  3. I love how fresh this looks. Beautiful photos. Also, my brother got that same salad mixer for Christmas and loves it. Maybe I need to invest:)

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  4. Eating this dish on New Year's Day would bring you lots of good luck for the New Year in Hawaii. Your dish looks delicious and is definitely on my to try list.

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  5. Veronica - totally gorgeous as always. Your photos are always so totally amazing - I am in awe! This is exactly the sort of thing that I like to eat (the perfect antidote to any Christmas excesses) and I am definitely making this. In fact it will be on my list this week :-)
    Hope you had a lovely Christmas and wishing you lots of love and luck for the new year, and of course I look forward to reading much more of your beautiful blog in the year ahead.
    Sue xo

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  6. This salad is breathtaking. Absolutley beautiful photo's to capture the freshness and appeal of this dish.

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  7. OH, how I wish I like seared ahi! It's one of my husband's favorites, but unfortunately the couple of times I've tried to make it I didn't have great success. This is one that we do out...
    Love the salad though! And that little dressing mixer look handy!

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  8. Beautiful colours and I imagine the contrasting textures would be sensational.

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  9. Great dressing mixer, and a great idea for gift giving! I want one LOL

    We love Ahi Tuna seared in my house! I had a craving for some and went to a sushi place instead, but all is good, I will have to make it again soon!

    Happy New Year!

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  10. What an amazing looking seared Ahi Tuna. Love colors of the spicy mix, also the link to the restaurant that inspired you this dish!
    The pairing of the wine is a perfect choice as well.
    Veronica, you outdid yourself!
    Wishing you the best of everything that the New Year can bring you!

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  11. Seared rare tuna is in my top five favorite dinner dishes of all time. I order it every time we go to a restaurant called Soba. We've made it ourselves once but cooked it too much. It's pretty tricky to get it as rare as it should be. Yours looks so delicious that we might have to give it another go! Thanks for posting!

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  12. Your presentations would put some professionals to shame.

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  13. MMM I looooove ahi tuna, seared or not! I just had to comment and tell you how gorgeous this is both in appearance and in flavor too I bet! Those edamame are my newest addiction too! Shelled of course. :)

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  14. wow, the colour of that tuna is amazing...i bet it was delicious :)

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  15. Hi , Congratulations gor you Blog
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    ˛°_██_*.。*./ ♥ \ .˛* .˛。.˛.*.★* Año 2011 *★ 。*
    ˛. (´• ̮•)*.。*/♫.♫\*˛.* ˛_Π_____. ♥ ˛* ˛*
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  16. Wow! That looks amazing!
    I love sesame crusted tuna. I guess you'd like this one as well... - http://www.gastronautadventures.com/blog/view/tuna_black_and_white

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  17. what a great presentation of this dish! Love ahi tuna and can't wait to try this out!

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  18. What a beautiful looking salad! Great gadget review too! Thanks for sharing this recipe!

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  19. Delicious! You can never go wrong with seared tuna.

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  20. Hi Veronica, I found you on FoodBuzz and am now happily following you! I love, love, love ahi tuna recipes and will certainly make this as I incorporate more healthy recipes into my lifestyle. Please do stop by my blog and check out the recipe for ahi tuna appetizers from Hawaii posted in July, 2010, that I think would delight you! I would be honored to have you as a fellow follower too! Happy, healthy new year!

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  21. Oh, how beautiful! And the ingredients all sound like they taste delicious when combined together in the perfect bite :-) Thank you so much for sharing and congrats on your Top 9! And what a daughter to buy you a fun gadget like that making vinaigrettes and dressings super easy.

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  22. Gorgeous and healthy- the best kind of recipe to start the New Year off right. Congrats on top 9!

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  23. Veronica,

    What a great post! The Ahi tuna looks simply delicious and the steps are beautifully presented. Spot on for top 9 today! So good!

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  24. Glad you mentioned to ask the fish guy which is best for raw!! I always buy mine from Pike Place Market in Seattle...love the recipe!! Congrats on making Foodbuzz Top 9...well deserved!!

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  25. Wow, your tuna looks so perfectly cooked! I can't wait to try this recipe. The dressing looks fantastic too--I would never have thought to use tahini.

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  26. this looks perfectly seared..thanks for sharing this.

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  27. This looks FANTASTIC!!! Oh and I have the same salad dressing spinner...love it!!

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  28. Made it for diner tonight and loved it! Thank you

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  29. Will sprinkles work instead of sesame seeds?

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  30. I made this for dinner. I used Yellowtail tuna steaks, and it was outstanding!

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  31. WOW! This looks absolutely incredible! I picked up ahi tuna steaks today and I can't wait to make this recipe! I love the mixture of black and white sesame seeds--such great presentation!

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  32. I made this last night and my boyfriend and I were blown away. Thank you so much for sharing :)

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  33. Good morning, I featured this recipe on my blog today, it looks great! Thanks for allowing me to share. Here is the link http://carriesexperimentalkitchen.blogspot.com/2012/04/week-13-seafood-frenzy-friday.html

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  34. This was absolutely delicious! Everyone raved about it. Easy & quick to make. The key is the quality of the tuna. Make sure your fish monger knows you need Sashimi grade. I have my fish monger keep it in his commercial cooler until a few hours before I need it. It's fresher and kept much cooler which is important for sashimi grade tuna. Thank you for this recipe! I am so looking forward to trying more of the recipes. This is a wonderful site. I'll be visiting often.

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  35. Thanks for sharing. Delicious!

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  36. Itis very good and simple. My husband and I love it.

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  37. hi guys i have got some amazing tips for you on this article www.williamssonoma.com

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