Stokes Sauces: Fish Friday

Talking, Cooking & Loving - Tuna

http://www.stokessauces.co.uk/page/sauces/mayo-range

Tuna are one of the most commercially valuable fish, the most most fished species being: skipjack (forming more than half of the global catch), yellowfin, bigeye, and albacore.

Some species swim as fast as 43 miles per hour - if they were a car, they'd be a Ferrari.

When cooking it, be aware that it can dry out, so it should be cooked qickly over a high heat in a frying pan, on a griddle or a barbecue and is best served pink.

Mango & Orange Tuna Steak

Rest your tuna steaks (ideally overnight) in a marinade of Stokes Mango & Orange Dressing (4 tbsp), olive oil (4 tbsp), the juice of half a lime and Stokes Chilli Ketchup (1 tbsp - for a gentle chilli finish). Before cooking it, drain it, brush it with olive oil, dip it in toasted sesame seeds and set it aside.

For the mango and orange salsa, flash fry cubes of mango and segmented orange with slices of red chilli in a little oil, adding the marinade slowly with 1 tsp of cornflour diluted in a little white wine. Simmer quickly until you have a juicy warm, salsa.

Spoon this out of the pan, turn up the heat and fry the tuna steaks in the residue for 1 - 2 minutes each side. You will see it quickly turning grey as it cooks each side, leaving a dark, rare strip in the middle. Serve with the salsa and thin peelings of zest.

Tuna Kebabs

http://www.stokessauces.co.uk/page/sauces/ketchup-and-sauces

Fresh tuna is robust as an ingredient and takes on the strong flavours of a marinade with delicious ease.

For 4 people, cut large cubes from about 450 g of fresh tuna steak then drown it in a marinade.

For the marinade: mix the zest and juice of 2 limes, 1 inch of grated ginger, 4 tbsp of light brown sugar, 2 tbsp of Stokes Brown Sauce (for its grownup tang and Persian spices) and 150 ml of orange juice.

Make sure the tuna is well covered in the marinade and (ideally) leave it overnight. Thread the cubes onto skewers with a courgette disc and a feather of sweet pickled onion.

Now grill the skewers (indoors or out) turning and basting regularly for 6 minutes.

Cheesy Tuna Quesadilla

Now we turn to tinned tuna. Use tuna preserved in spring water rather than oil as it is more readily integrated with other ingredients.

Make a salsa of chopped tomatoes, avocado, cucumber, a tin of sweetcorn, 2 tbsp of Stokes Burger Relish and 2 tbsp of smoky Stokes Chipotle Ketchup.

Grate 50 g of Cheddar cheese and tear a ball of mozzarella into small pieces. Drain a 100 g can of tuna chop 2 or 3 spring onions and grate a carrot, mashing the three together.

You now basically have: a smoky chilli salsa; double cheese; and mashed tuna, onion & carrot.

Use 4 wholemeal flour tortilla wraps, laid flat. On one half of each, spread the double cheese, salsa and tuna. Fold the other half of the tortilla over and press hard to squash the filling together.

Rub a frying pan with oil, get it really hot and cook each filled tortilla in turn, pushing them flat with a fish slice. 2 to 3 minutes each side will do it. Cut them into triangles and serve with a crispy green or tomato salad.

Tomato Tuna Pasta

Tinned tuna with a Mediterranean twist, served with a lovely twist of spaghetti.

Drain a can of tuna in spring water and break it into large 'chunks'. Set it aside to add it to the sauce later.

For the sauce: skin a dozen or so cherry vine tomatoes, halve and add them to 1 diced shallot and 2 cloves of grated garlic that have been gently softening in a little olive oil.

Stir in 2 tsp of dried Italian mixed herbs, 3 or 4 tbsp of Stokes Bloody Mary Ketchup, a few capers and pitted, halved Kalamata olives. Simmer the tomatoey sauce for 5 minutes then add the tuna for just a minute.

Turn the heat off, cover and let the tuna take on the delicious sunshine flavours of the Med. Cook the spaghetti to the packet's instructions, then stir it into the sauce, serve and enjoy.

Tuna loves flavour - and we have it in spades