Seared tuna with tzatziki on a bed of spinach

Super easy, super tasty, super healthy, super quick – what more could you want? You just have to remember to marinade the tuna ahead of time. If you don’t have teriyaki sauce, try marinating it in a little soy sauce, lemon/lime juice and a dash of salt and pepper.

Serves: 3-4 as a main course

Time to prepare/cook: 5 minutes to marinade the tuna ahead of time; approximately 15 minutes to prepare and cook the tuna and spinach

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Ingredients

• 400-500g fresh tuna steaks (allow 150-200g per person), 1 to 2 cm thick

• 400-500g of washed spinach (1 large bag)

• 1 teaspoon crushed garlic, or 1 garlic cloves chopped finely

• ½ teaspoon of nutmeg

• Teriyaki sauce to marinade the tuna

• 1 tablespoon sesame oil for frying the tuna – use olive oil if you don’t have sesame oil

• 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil to cook the spinach

• Optional: Sesame seeds to coat the tuna in a light crust (looks good for any guests)

• Lemon wedges to serve

• Optional side dishes. Tzatziki or mango salsa (see other recipes)

• Pots & pans needed: 2 large frying pans, chopping board

Method

• Cover the tuna lightly in the teriyaki sauce and marinade for at least an hour before cooking in the fridge; if adding sesame seeds, put these in a bowl just before cooking and gently press the marinated tuna into the seeds until both sides are covered

• Add the spinach to the pan with the olive oil, garlic and nutmeg and fry on a medium-high heat (6 on a scale of 1 to 9), stirring regularly so the spinach wilts through evenly – this should take approximately 5-10 minutes depending on the size of the spinach leaves (baby ones take less time to soften down)

• At the same time, splash a little sesame oil into the other frying pan and warm it up to a high heat (7 on a scale of 1 to 9) for 2-3 minutes

• Cook the tuna for 2 to 4 minutes on each side, depending on how rare you like your tuna – the tuna in the picture was cooked for about 3 minutes on each side

• Once the tuna and spinach are cooked, leave the spinach in the pan to stay warm (heat off), while you quickly slice the tuna

• Arrange the tuna slices on top of a bed of spinach on each plate and serve with lemon wedges, and optional side dishes, plus a little crusty bread