Recipes by Zola - Grilled Cajun Tuna Steaks with a Mustard Smear and Tomato Salad (Lean and Lively)

ArcaMax Publishing > Home & Garden > Recipes > Recipes by Zola

Your email address is safe with us. View our Privacy policy.

Food and Wine Pairing Guide:

Match the perfect wine with your recipes using our Wine Pairing guide

The Funnies:

Get free jokes, comics, and more! See them all on
our funnies page

Books:

Read the classics online or by email. More details on the books page

Grilled Cajun Tuna Steaks with a Mustard Smear and Tomato Salad (Lean and Lively)

Zola Gorgon

The New Diet...

I'm sitting here on Bastille Day feeling a bit sorry for myself. I'd love to be sitting in a French Bistro tonight drinking French martini's and planning some cream-laden dinner order, followed by a mound of chocolate mousse and a glass of Armagnac but alas, I'm beginning a new diet today so I must abstain.

I'm excited though. I love the new diet book I've discovered, so if you'll pardon me, I'm feeling a bit "Oprah" today and am going to give you a recommendation. If you are thinking of going on a healthy, reasonable diet that can provide great results for the sedentary as well as the active, read on.

"Ten Years Thinner" by Dr. Christine Lydon, MD, is your next purchase.

A quick summary. This is not another low-carb book. It's not a diet where you'll feel hungry. It's not a treatise that's so complicated you'll fall asleep reading it. And it's easy to do. The whole premise is to eat the way we were designed to eat. Our early ancestors showed the way. It's a six week diet that, those that have done it, say it gives them energy, they lose considerable weight and they change habits (maybe even for good). It's got an exercise plan that does not require a health club or any special equipment. If you are not able to exercise for health reasons, I'd bet dollars to donuts that you'll still lose weight if you follow this diet. You just might not firm up as much.

In the first two weeks you eat almost all protein, veggies and fruit. Gone are dairy and bread. The good news is you can eat breakfast for lunch, dinner at breakfast, or any combination you choose. As long as you eat a full portion of protein (the size of your hand --- none of this deck of cards stuff), 2 servings of veggies and one of fruit for each meal. You also get two or three snacks. Snacks are a combo of a half cup of nuts (just about any except peanuts) and a piece of fruit. Mid-morning and mid-afternoon are your snack times. And if you are one of those late night movie watchers you get to add a third snack. That's more food than I'm used to eating in two days. It ought to keep me full! All foods are cooked in cold-pressed olive oil and you can spice your food up with lots of things. Just avoid sugary stuff like barbecue sauce.

For the rest of the details you can check on line at www.tenyearsthinner.com. There are blogs for trading success stories and sharing recipes. This really looks good, so I'm going to design some Zola meals around the parameters of the diet. Today's is the first one. You'll see how you can be "gourmet" and still be on a diet. My mission is always to make what I call "Lean and Lively"; diet food that tastes good.

For other Lean and Lively dishes check out my website. www.dinnerwithzola.com I've developed lots of "Lean and Lively" meals, so they are marked. They are all under entrees.

Grilled Cajun Tuna Steaks with a Mustard Smear and Tomato Salad (Lean and Lively)

4 tuna Steaks (or any grillable fish). 3/4 -1" thick
Cajun seasoning for meat or fish (I use either one)
Olive oil spray
2 tsp of mustard (Choose your favorite. Grey Poupon, horseradish mustard, or my favorite - hot mustard, or other)
4 handfuls of salad greens
2 large, ripe tomatoes cut into slices
Olive oil for drizzling
1 Tbl of balsamic vinegar
Optional: blackberries (or other berries) for color and variety

Spray both sides of the tuna steaks, liberally, with olive oil spray. Dust them with the Cajun seasoning to taste. Set aside so the flavors sink in.

While the flavors meld, take out your dinner plates. In a medium bowl, toss your greens with a light drizzle of olive oil and just a hint of salt. (The salt actually enhances the flavor of the olive oil and greens). Place a portion of greens in the middle of each plate. Divide your tomato slices into 4 portions and fan them around one side of the greens. Spread them wide to cover half of the plate edge. Drizzle with olive oil. Season with pepper and drizzle bits of balsamic vinegar on the tomatoes.

Heat your grill or grill pan. Place the tuna steaks on the grate and grill on medium for 3 minutes. Don't move them. This will give you nice grill marks. Carefully flip them over and grill 3 more minutes. This will finish the fish at medium. If you like your tuna more rare in the middle cut back the cooking time when you flip the fish over. The gauge I use is 7 minutes per inch of thickness to grill fish to medium. Just keep in mind that it keeps cooking after you take it off the heat. Tuna is very forgiving. Done to any temperature it still tastes good so if you are not a regular fish griller this is a good place to start. Tuna has a meaty taste and texture too, so if you are grilling for non-fish eaters they'll likely change their tune when they taste this. Remove the fish from the grill and place the fish steaks in the middle of the greens. The hot fish will "wilt" the greens and make a nice warm salad. While the fish is still very warm smear a half teaspoon of mustard across the top of each piece. The mustard will melt and make a sort of glaze. Now you're eating French-Cajun.

Scatter your berries around the greens and you're ready to eat. For another side, spray olive oil on asparagus spears and grill them along with your fish. You'll have a gourmet meal fit for company.

Send email to Zola at zolacooks@gmail.com.

This news arrived on: 07/21/2008

Share this Story