Thank you to footballer Dion Dublin for joining me for this dish. It was a joy

Seared Tuna Steak with a fresh aubergine and courgette pesto. This dish has a delicate flavour and is easy enough to make for a weekday lunch yet impressive enough to serve at a dinner party. You see, I always say that just because you are eating for good health doesn’t mean you have to eat boring rabbit food with a few seeds on top! This dish is perfectly, nutritionally balanced and will give the taste buds a treat too. Enjoy

I served the tuna and pesto on a bed of rice noodles with beansprouts, cooked in a wok with a little sesame oil. Its also lovely with some celeriac mash or rice. Your choice

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 tuna steaks

Either 1 red chilli, seeds taken out and finely diced or 2 teaspoons of pre-prepared chillies

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

juice form 1 lemon

3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed (1 clove for the tuna and 2 for the pesto)

2 tablespoons pine nuts

2 red onions, finely diced

1 aubergine, washed and cut into 1 cm chunks

2 courgettes, washed and cut into 1 cm chunks

Method

• Marinate the tuna steak in a bowl (or in the packet as I did) with lemon juice, black pepper, 1 crushed garlic clove and the chillies. Set aside.
• In a large non-stick frying pan, over a medium heat, add the olive oil, diced onion, aubergine, courgette and 2 of the crushed garlic cloves and cook for 5-6 minutes until soft. I don’t like this to be mushy, I prefer the vegetables to still have a little bit of bite
• Next add the pine nuts, turn down the heat to low and cook for another 4 minutes or so, stirring regularly
• Meanwhile, in a separate non-stick frying pan, add a little olive oil and cook the tuna steak according to your taste. (My steak was not too thick so it only took about 3 minutes on each side to cook.) It is safe to eat tuna steak that is slightly rare in the middle.
• Set the tuna aside to rest once cooked and with a potato masher – mash the aubergine and courgette pesto down into a lumpy consistancy to form the pesto.
• Serve on top of the tuna steak with some rice noodles or a side dish of your choice.

Thank you to Richwood Jones for the use of their amazing kitchen.