Seared Tuna with Wasabi Mash and Salsa Verde

This is a super easy recipe, inspired by a dish I had at Asia de Cuba in London earlier this week with my gorgeous cousin LeeLee and the Hussyband.

Ingredients:

Tuna: Tuna steak and freshly cracked black pepper

Mash: Maris Piper Tatties (or whatever tatties you like to mash), Butter, Milk and Wasabi Powder

Salsa Verde

2-3 cloves of garlic (peeled and roughly chopped)

1 small handful of capers (roughly chopped)

1 small handful of gherkins pickled in sweet vinegar (roughly chopped)

6 anchovy fillets

2 large handfuls of flat-leaf parsley (leaved picked off - you dont want the stems!)

1 bunch of fresh basil (leaved picked off - see above)

1 handful of fresh mint (leaved picked off - see above)

1.5 tablespoons Dijon mustard

4 tablespoons red wine vinegar

About 6 good glugs of really good extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

(1) Boil and mash your tatties as your normally would, then gradually add the wasabi powder until you get the strength that you like. For 5 large tatties you would be looking at about 1 tablespoon of powder - this will feed about 4 people.

(2) Once the tatties are going, put all the salsa ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and blitz until you get a nice fine slightly runny sauce, add extra olive oil if needed.

(3) Once the salsa is made and resting, season the tuna steaks liberally with the pepper and sear in a hot pan or bbq that has been very lightly oiled - about 45seconds each side for medium rare depending on thickness.

To plate, put a dollop of the mash in the centre of a warmed plate, top with the tuna steak and drizzle the edges of the plate with the salsa verde, and add a dollop to the top of the steak. For a bit of textural crunch, sprinkle a few wasabi peas around and you will be in a very happy place!