Nearly every weekend Amy is home she asks for seared tuna. The fun part for me is thinking of new ways to prepare it. Last night I paid homage to Louisiana, which is one of the only things I miss about living in East/Southeast Texas. I had the best blackened redfish of my life on my first visit to NOLA with fresh asparagus and Hollandiase. So I twisted the memory of that dish into seared tuna with summer squash and aioli. Not exactly a Creole dish but definitely tasty!

Blackened Tuna

Ingredients:

1 fresh tuna steak

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1/2 teaspoon Tony Chachere’s Bold Cajun Seasoning, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon Smoked Paprika

1/2 teaspoon Garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon Onion powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

In a small mixing bowl, combine the coconut oil and seasonings. (if the coconut oil gets too cold it will solidify so be mindful of that). Generously coat the tuna steak on all sides with the seasoned coconut oil. In a nonstick pan over medium high heat, sear the tuna about 2  to 3 minutes per side. Sear longer or less depending on how done you like it. Let the tuna rest a few minutes before slicing it.

Spicy Mustard Aioli

Ingredients:

1/4 cup mayo

1 teaspoon Spicy Brown Mustard

1 teaspoon Horseradish Mustard

1/4 teaspoon Tony Chachere’s Bold Cajun Seasoning, or to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

In a small mixing bowl, stir all ingredients until well combined. Adjust seasonings as needed. Serve as a condiment with your favorite Cajun dishes or on burgers and hot dogs for a little punch of spice.

Sauteed Summer Squash

Ingredients:

2 Fair Weather Farm Organic Summer Squash, trimmed and sliced into half moons

1/2 a sweet onion chopped

1/4 teaspoon rendered bacon fat or a tab of butter

1 teaspoon Garlic Powder

about 1 cup water

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

In a cast iron skillet over medium heat, saute the onion until translucent. Salt and pepper. Once the onion is soft, add the summer squash and reduce heat to low. Sweat the summer squash about 5 minutes. Deglaze the pan with a couple tablespoons of water and stir up all the fond from the bottom of the pan. Allow the water to completely cook down and then repeat this process, adding a bit of water at a time, until the squash is tender. Adjust seasonings as needed. Serve immediately.

Note: the summer squash I received in my work share had nice big seeds. You can remove the seeds if you like but I don’t recommend it. The seeds add a beautiful nutty crunch to the dish, which I discovered last week when having lunch at the farm. I haven’t liked sauteed squash EVER in my life until I had Nancy’s dish. So a special thanks to her for the inspiration!