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Going back to being an adult after a week at the Ryder Cup is hard. Exhausted from being on our feet all day, we were living off burgers, pizza, soup, macaroni and cheese, basically anything that was quick and effortless. Come Monday, it was time to buckle down and get our feet back on the ground. It was back to work, back to blogging and back to making some respectable food in the kitchen again.
My husband was craving this Garlic-Butter-Shrimp Quinoa from Pinch of Yum (the recipe is amazing as is, but sometimes I add mushrooms) but unfortunately we had no shrimp and no mushrooms. We did have Yellowfin Tuna steaks, yellow peppers, and arugula though so I figured I'd make my own spin on Lindsay's great dish!
Dishes like this are great because you can really add whatever vegetables you have on hand. Thanks to our CSA farm share we've had quite the abundance of fresh (and unique) produce this summer/fall and I could have used any of it for this meal. Back to the point though - this dish turned out fabulous. There are few better combinations than butter, lemon, garlic and seafood. I'm hungry just writing about it. It was fresh and healthy and everything we had been lacking for the past week.
Side note: if you're going to make quinoa, make sure everyone eating is capable of making it to a table. My husband had Lasik (well, PRK technically) that morning and spent the entire day laying in the dark upstairs. He was in so much pain and struggling to open his eyes at all that I just brought dinner up to him...and then proceeded to try to feed it to him. In the dark. Needless to say, there was quinoa all over the bed. Stick to less messy foods for breakfast, lunch or dinner in bed.
Ingredients
2 T. butter (+1 T. more for topping steaks with at end)
drizzle of olive oil
1 medium yellow onion - chopped
3 T. lemon juice
4 Yellowfin Tuna steaks
3 cloves garlic - minced (use 4 if your cloves are small)
1 yellow pepper - cut into thin strips
2-3 handfuls of baby arugula
Chicken Broth
Salt and Pepper
3 to 4 cups cooked quinoa (I cook it in chicken broth instead of water for more flavor)
Directions
In a large pan, melt butter and add olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook for 5-7 minutes or until they are just starting to color. Add lemon juice and salt/pepper to taste.
Pat your steaks dry and season both sides generously with salt and pepper. Push the onion to the outer edges of the pan and add steaks to the pan. Cook for about 6 minutes per side or until an internal temperature of 125 degrees (this should be less or more depending on your grade of seafood). Add the garlic to the pan when your steaks have about 2 minutes left - stir to combine with onions. Once cooked, remove tuna from pan and place on plate to rest.
By this time (or maybe sooner if your heat is running high), you could probably use the chicken broth to deglaze the pan. Pour a splash or two in and make sure you scrape all that caramelized goodness from the bottom of the pan. Let it cook down for a couple minutes or until it's reduced by about half. Add the yellow pepper and cook for another two minutes. Reduce heat to low and mix in cooked quinoa and baby arugula. Cover with lid and let steam for a minute or two until the arugula has wilted. Add steaks back into the pan and top each with a pat of butter. Cover again to melt butter. Serve immediately.
Serves 4.
Time: 30 minutes