Inspiration for this dish: extra produce in my fridge that needed to be used! I find that sometimes the best inspiration for recipes comes simply from the ingredients you already have available to you, and making them work. For the longest time I've wanted to make some sort of sauce, and that I finally did with this red pepper sauce, using the extra peppers I had in my fridge! It was super simple to make, essentially all I did was roast the vegetables, blend them in a food processor and added a little olive oil and seasoning. A sauce sounds intimidating and complicated, but in actuality if you are using whole ingredients, it really doesn't have to be!
I was probably most pleasantly surprised with how the green beans turned out- they were literally like candy. When I initially made the choice to add green beans to the dish, I just thought, "well I better add some sort of green vegetable". Little did I know that the green beans would be such a central part of the flavor in this dish. I think the key was that I let the green beans bake long enough so they started to brown, maybe even caramelize a little. I'm not entirely sure of the science behind what happened, but whatever went down, it worked! This would be a great meal for more of a special occasion like a date night or celebration of some sort.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 35-40 minutes
Serves: 2-3
The Ingredients:
For the Pepper Sauce:
For the Green Beans:
For the Tuna:
The Creation:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the peppers, green onion, tomatoes, and garlic on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Then drizzle with the olive oil and vinegar. On a separate baking sheet, place the green beans and sprinkle with olive oil, salt, pepper and herbs de provence. Place both sheets in the oven and let bake.
2. Remove the green beans after 20-25 minutes and the peppers after 30-35 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the tuna by rubbing both sides of the tuna with salt and pepper. Then, in a medium sized skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat and place the tuna steaks in the pan, cooking 2-3 minutes on each side. You will be able to see the tuna cook through by looking at the outer edge of the steak, the part that is cooked being white and the uncooked part being pink. When it's done, you want both the top and bottom to be cooked white and the middle part of the tuna to remain pink (see photo for a visual aid).
4. Once the peppers are done, place all the contents of the pan into a food pulser where you will blend until smooth, about 10-15 seconds. Then add the olive oil, salt, pepper, and cumin. Continue to blend until smooth.
5. Lastly serve the tuna steaks accompanied by the roasted green beans and red pepper sauce. Bon appétit!
Cook Time: 35-40 minutes
Serves: 2-3
The Ingredients:
For the Pepper Sauce:
- 2 cups assorted red, yellow, and orange bell peppers, chopped
- 1/4 cup green onion, chopped
- 2 roma tomatoes, chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic, halved
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
For the Green Beans:
- 6 ounces green beans, whole
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Sprinkle of salt and pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon herbs de provence
For the Tuna:
- Two 4 oz tuna steaks
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
The Creation:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the peppers, green onion, tomatoes, and garlic on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Then drizzle with the olive oil and vinegar. On a separate baking sheet, place the green beans and sprinkle with olive oil, salt, pepper and herbs de provence. Place both sheets in the oven and let bake.
2. Remove the green beans after 20-25 minutes and the peppers after 30-35 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the tuna by rubbing both sides of the tuna with salt and pepper. Then, in a medium sized skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat and place the tuna steaks in the pan, cooking 2-3 minutes on each side. You will be able to see the tuna cook through by looking at the outer edge of the steak, the part that is cooked being white and the uncooked part being pink. When it's done, you want both the top and bottom to be cooked white and the middle part of the tuna to remain pink (see photo for a visual aid).
4. Once the peppers are done, place all the contents of the pan into a food pulser where you will blend until smooth, about 10-15 seconds. Then add the olive oil, salt, pepper, and cumin. Continue to blend until smooth.
5. Lastly serve the tuna steaks accompanied by the roasted green beans and red pepper sauce. Bon appétit!