Seared Ahi with Mango Salsa

Every Thursday we have a farmers market that comes in and brings the freshest fruits, veggies, fish, and meats. One Thursday picked up some sashimi grade Ahi Tuna and thought that I could do more with this than just sashimi. I Googled Ahi Tuna and found 100's of recipes. Hmmmm... Seared Ahi. I grabbed some basic info and into the kitchen I went.

Something I'm going to say upfront when it comes to preparing Seared Ahi Tuna. Don't toy around with quality. Although it is being seared, this is still a raw fish dish. The center will be raw. The Ahi should have deep red meat and not be overly fishy in smell. The difference between sashimi or sushi grade tuna and regular tuna is sashimi grade is flash frozen to below 31F degrees which insures that all parasites are killed. There is also something to be said about the fat content of the fish. Nice fatty lines in the meat are a very good thing.

On to the dish. Searing is the process of quickly cooking the outside of an item at high heat to seal in the juices. Because high heat is needed I find that olive oils and butter have too low of a burn temp. I used a simple vegetable oil on a flat skillet over a med high flame. I took some sea salt, fresh ground pepper, and some dried dill and mixed them on a plate and lightly coated the Ahi. As the oil gave a wisp of smoke I added a little butter. Doing it this way allows for a higher burn temp and the wonderful flavor and browning that butter gives. Placing the Ahi on the hot skillet I let it cook for about 2 minutes. Flipped it and cooked for about another 90 seconds. Cook times can be adjusted somewhat but cooking the fish longer changes the flavor and texture of the dish. Once it was seared I plated it. I let it sit for a couple of minutes before slicing it. It seems to help make for cleaner slices. I then topped it off with home made mango salsa.

The mango salsa was actually so simple and of course made ahead of the Ahi. I used a jar of already peeled and sliced mangos in a light syrup that I rinsed and drained. I chopped them up along with grape tomatoes, cilantro, avocado, jalapeno, red onion, fresh lime juice, and a touch of sea salt to draw out the flavors. After GENTLY folding these items together, I placed it in the fridge to allow the flavors to combine.

Taking the plated and sliced Ahi, I topped it with this salsa and invited a neighbor to join me. It was excellent, and not just excellent for the first time I prepared it, but just down right delish!