Blackened Tuna

As I Flip through the pages of our old culinary magazines, I was able to read this recipe, and because we have a pack of cumin that wasn't opened yet (my sister bought it for a different recipe, but wasn't able to cook it anymore), I decided to use the recipe when brother bought some tuna steaks. This recipe was taken from the Vol. 2 No. 1 issue of Foodie Magazine.




Blackened Tuna
{Serves 2}

Ingredients:

• 1/4 kilogram tuna
• seafood rub
  
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• fresh herbs for garnish

Ingredients for Seafood Rub:

• 1/2 teaspoon dried ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons spanish paprika
• 1/2 tablespoon iodized salt
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

How to Cook:

• Pat the seafood rub all over the fish.
• Over high heat, sear fish in a pan coated with vegetable oil, about 3 to 5 minutes on each side until cooked through.
• Serve with a garnish of fresh herbs.

At first I was apprehensive about this recipe. That is just way too much spices, and I really felt cumin might not be delicious because of its smell (I always tell cumin smelled like pencil shavings). Still, I wanted to explore the many ways to enjoy food. I cooked this using my brother's griddle, but I wasn't able to get much of the crisscross markings I wanted because I was fearing I might burn it. Talk about being a newbie in using the griddle! Hahahahaha.

Anyway, I cooked two tuna steak cuts, one for me, one for my brother. He was still sleeping when I finished cooking, so I was alone for that lunch. Tasting the fish, I was instantly blown away. It was so delicious! The blend of all the spices just went well with the tuna, and it tasted good with freshly squeezed lemon juice, too. I opted to eat this alone (without rice), although as a way of indulging myself, I made an aioli sauce (mayo with minced garlic) to dip the fish in.

I liked it so much that I wasn't able to resist the temptation of eating some of my brother's share. I did apologize when he saw his tuna steak missing some, and of course he understood it. As usual, he didn't say anything about the taste... but me seeing him mixing the spices and using it with tuna steaks and chicken breast fillet on two separate occasions, I could really say he loved it, too.

In a forum, one member said, "Cumin is an underrated spice," after I made a comment that our pantry has lots of bottled dried herbs and spices, but we still haven't used cumin because of its smell. Now I can understand him. Cumin really is underrated. Thanks to this recipe, I have found a new way to enjoy tuna.

*** Jenn ***