Plating Variations on Seared Tuna

ried my hand at seared tuna plating last weekend, had some ideas in my mind I had to get off my chest.

These are the ingredients I used for the very first iteration of the dish, and I think it tasted great. The sweeter balsamic vinegar reduction went nicely with the sour vinegar notes in the mustard mayo, and the avocado paired nicely with the tuna.

- 1 x wild sashimi grade yellowfin tuna steak, trimmed
- 1 x golden beet
- 1 x red beet
- 1 x organic mayonnaise
- 1 x whole mustard
- 1 x avocado
- olive oil, salt, pepper
- black sesame seeds
- balsamic vinegar reduction (make in advance)

1. Trim tuna into rectangular prism shape, brush with olive oil, coat two opposing sides with black sesame seeds.
2. Oven roast beets with skin on, about 45 minutes at 375 degrees. Peel, slice, and mix with olive oil, salt, pepper.
3. Cut avocado wedges, brush with lime juice.
4. Mix together mayonnaise, whole mustard.
5. Gently sear tuna, about 45 seconds for the sides with black sesame seeds, 30 seconds on bare flesh sides. Searing time will depend on tuna thickness, but you can easily determine the doneness by the color of the flesh as you're searing. I prefer rare or medium rare; any further cooking, and the flesh becomes rubbery and dry.
6. Let tuna rest 10 minutes after searing, cut at angle with sharp knife.
7. Plate!

Seared tuna plating variation #2 (I deleted #1 as it was too ugly).

I prefer my plating style in #2; however, the square bowl was slightly on the small side, will need a dish with greater flat surface area in the future. Was missing some ingredients; I didn't have my golden beets, balsamic reduction, or avocado. Made a big difference.