Today, we will expand on the traditional tuna sandwich, historically made from canned tuna, and create something that captures the essence of this classic. We will also expand it to include fresh ingredients bursting with bright flavors and textures. When you drop the name of this sandwich, people will think you toiled away for hours to make it, but honestly, this is a pretty simple recipe. It’s nothing overly complex, and it’s not at all hard to make this taste really good.
Flash-seared tuna steak sandwich with roasted garlic and basil aioli served on grilled ciabatta bread!!
See, sounds fancy, but let’s break down the name.
- Flash seared tuna steak sandwich = chunk of tuna cooked really hot, really fast, like tuna steam blasted in a tin can
- Mix roasted garlic and basil aioli with the mayonnaise for the right touch
- Grilled ciabatta bread = toast
Now, to make the cliff note’s version of this sandwich lightning fast and pretty painless:
- Open a can of tuna and drain the liquid.
- Season with garlic salt, a pinch of dried basil, and mix in a heaping tablespoon of mayonnaise.
- Spread it on toasted bread.
See, done. And this is going taste great. Honestly, I never thought to make this on my own, but my wife and kids would whip this up all the time, and I will always make myself one if there is any tuna salad left.
Now, if you want to fancy this up a touch, we can use fresh ingredients and an elegant presentation, but it is still the same sandwich.
This is what you will need:
- Tuna. Fresh frozen tuna is best. If you live on a coast where you can buy truly fresh tuna, you must have deep pocketbooks, and then you can use that. Canned tuna is acceptable if you have no other tuna available, but the goal here is to cook the tuna to perfection, so some form of raw tuna is best. Albacore, yellowfin, or even skipjack will work just fine here.
- Garlic. Whole cloves
- Basil. Fresh basil will give off a real summer flavor, but dry basil will also work
- Eggs
- Olive oil. High-quality Spanish olive oil if you can get it, but honestly, any oil will do.
- Soft, chewy bread.
- Salt and pepper and some fresh citrus juice.
The first step is to make a roasted garlic aioli.
If you have one, take whole cloves of garlic and cover in olive oil in a cast iron skillet. Put it in an oven at 250 degrees for 1 hour or so. The goal is to get the garlic clove to brown without getting to the smoke point of the olive oil. As the garlic roasts, it will further flavor the oil. You could make a bunch of this because it makes just about every sandwich taste better!
After about 1 hour in the oven, the garlic will be browned a little and softened. Remove from the oil bath and let it cool, but do not throw away the oil. This will be very useful and necessary later on. If you have a food processor or immersion blender, this will make it go much faster, but you can just chop and mix by hand. Mix roasted garlic, fresh chopped basil, and a little salt in a blender. Get it as smooth as possible, but it doesn’t need to be completely smooth. Add egg yolks to the mix and put that stick blender to work. Remember that garlic-infused olive oil? Trickle it into the mix and invite a squeeze of lemon juice to the party. The result will be a creamy, bright taste of summertime. Set the whole thing aside.
Now to the star of the show, the tuna. Cut tuna into about ¼ inch thick mini steaks and season with salt and pepper. Coat with olive oil and let marinate for about 15 min. If you want to add some lemon zest, now would be the time. Remember that cast iron pan that you roasted the garlic in? I hope you did not wash it with soap because prepping that oil was also a perfect way to season the pan. Get that pan back on the stove and get it good and hot. Cooking the tuna should honestly take just a few moments. Maybe 20-30 seconds per side. Tuna is always eaten raw, so slightly undercooked is not a problem, but overcooked will dry it out. Set the tuna to the side, waiting patiently for the final assembly.
The bread is just the bread. Grill it, toast it, or do nothing at all. You can make it yourself, but you must look elsewhere for that info. I just find a good bakery and spend my 5 bucks. Bread solution unlocked. Enjoy!
