Best Tuna In Olive Oil Recipe
This isn't the tuna salad you're used to
Most of us know canned tuna as the watery staple of lunchtime salads, but pop open a golden, oil-soaked tin of tuna from Spain and it will seem almost like a luxury item in comparison. If you can't track down this prized pantry item, Dylan Hansen of Barcelona Wine Bar in New Haven is here to show you how to make your own to then flake over a juicy summer tomato salad.
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Make this alongside calamari cooked in squid ink for a Basque-inspired feast.
Recipe adapted from Dylan Hansen, Barcelona Wine Bar, New Haven, CT
Confit Tuna with Tomato Salad
Rich tuna belly is slowly cooked in olive oil flavored with orange zest, herbs and garlic for a Spanish-inspired, summertime dinner.
Prep Time
10
minutes
Cook Time
1
minute
servings
4
servings
Total time: 11 minutes
Ingredients
- For the Tuna Confit
- 1 pound tuna belly, or toro
- 1 cup kosher salt
- 1 ⅓ cups extra virgin olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- Zest of half a lemon
- Zest of half an orange
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 rosemary sprig
- 2 thyme sprigs
- For the Salad
- ½ small Spanish onion, thinly sliced
- 10 green olives (preferably marinated)
- 2 Brunetta or Kumato tomatoes, wedged
- Sherry vinegar
- Reserved olive oil from the tuna
- Flaky sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Directions
- Make the tuna confit: Dice the belly into large, similarly-sized chunks and cover in the kosher salt for 2 hours. This process cures the tuna, pulling out the moisture and seasoning it. Afterwards, rinse the tuna.
- Warm the olive oil in a medium sauté pan or saucepan (whatever will hold and submerge the tuna) on low heat. Add crushed garlic, lemon zest, orange zest, and the herbs. Heat slowly until the garlic has cooked through and is slightly caramelized, about 20 minutes 3. Add the rinsed tuna to the olive oil and cook on low heat until tender. The cooking time will depend on the size of your pieces and can take anywhere from 25 to 40 minutes, but allow the tuna to cook low and slow so it can absorb the olive oil.
- Let the tuna cool to room temperature while fully submerged in the olive oil before serving. The longer it sits, the more flavorful it will be.
- Assemble the salad: Arrange the onions, olives and tomatoes on a plate. Flake the tuna over the salad, dress with sherry vinegar, the oil from the tuna, flaky salt and pepper and serve.
Nutrition
| Calories per Serving | 846 |
| Total Fat | 78.7 g |
| Saturated Fat | 11.0 g |
| Trans Fat | 0.0 g |
| Cholesterol | 44.2 mg |
| Total Carbohydrates | 8.2 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2.4 g |
| Total Sugars | 3.8 g |
| Sodium | 690.6 mg |
| Protein | 29.0 g |
The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
