Tunn bel Tomatich, Algerian Baked Tuna with Two Tomato Sauces, Thon aux Deux Sauces Tomates

I'm getting a little tired of eating chicken. I'm really a lamb and beef eater. That's how my family eats in Algeria and in France. In Los Angeles I find myself eating more beef, Korean bbq to be specific.

We'll leave the farm in Setif for this preparation. Actually there is a lake in Setif where people fish, for what I do not know since I have never been there. I can ask though.

This is a tuna dish made with slow cooked tomato sauce, homemade tomato jam and almond stuffed olives.

Some of you may be wondering about the lack of spices in the dishes that I've presented so far. The Algerian cooking I grew up with used spices with a gentle hand or none at all. It has nothing to do with growing up in France either. Many Algerians in Algeria will say the same thing, others will argue that cooking without spices is ridiculous. My family cooking did not use a lot of garlic, onions and peppers either. Again, other Algerians will agree and others will disagree. Algerians for the most part won't argue about authenticity but we do argue about spicing and seasonings.

The tuna in this dish is cooked through in the typical Mediterranean manner. But it is still moist because of the cooking method.

Ingredients:

Two 1 1/2 " steaks of tuna about 1 pound
500 gr thon frais

1/2 cup of green pitted olives, rinsed of brine and stuffed with whole or sliced blanched almonds. (I will wax poetic about Algerian olives later along with a full blown tutorial on brining and curing olives)
1/2 tasse olives vertes

1 clove of garlic, finely minced
1 gousse d'ail emincee

Few leaves of fresh coriander
Coriandre frais

1/2 tablespoon of gently crushed coriander seeds
1/2 cuillere broyer delicatement les graines de coriandre

1 piece of preserved lemon, julienned and cut in half.
1 citron confit taille en julienne et coupe en deux

1 1/2 cups of slow cooked tomato sauce (I will provide an Algerian recipe later, but basically it is good old fashioned tomato sauce like in Italy)
1 1/2 tasse de sauce tomate

3/4 cups of homemade tomato jam.
3/4 tasse de sauce tomate

Salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Sel et poivre

Extra virgin olive oil
Huile d'olive

Method:

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2) Drizzle a little oil into a baking dish.

3) Season the tuna with salt and pepper on both sides and lay them in the baking dish. Scattered the almond stuffed olives, leaf coriander, coriander seeds, garlic and preserved lemons around the perimeter.

4) Spoon the tomato sauce around the perimeter of the fish but not on the fish. You may need more or less tomato sauce than I call for depending on the size of your baking dish. Season the tomato jam with salt to taste and spread it on top of the tuna steaks.

5) Drizzle the top with olive oil or dot with unsalted butter. Bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes.

Note: This dish is all about the interplay of slow cooked, soupy tomato sauce and the rich fruity flavor of tomato jam on top of the fish. If you want to try the dish but do not want to spend the time to make your own tomato jam and tomato sauce, I suggest sauteing canned tomato paste in olive oil over low heat for about 10 minutes, it will mellow the flavor of tinned tomatoes. Also, I find that pureeing good quality canned tomatoes produces a superior sauce rather than using canned sauce.

The almonds can be toasted before stuffing into the olives for an additional layer of flavor. This is another intriguing component of the dish. The briny, soft olives contrasting with the sweet, toasty  crunch of the almonds. The gently crushed coriander seeds add bits of peppery bite as well. And of course the aroma of preserved lemons and biting into salty rind with the flavors of lemon oil from the zest.

Season your food, taste your food, taste the different components. Are the olives too salty? Soak them in cold water, or boil them to remove some of the brine and bitterness. Do you like spices? Then add more of your favorite ones? Do you like more piquant sauces? Then add some cayenne pepper. You don't have preserved lemons? Use fresh lemons.

 

 

Algeria Algerian Cuisine Algerian Recipes Algerian Food Algerian dishes Cuisine Algerienne Recettes  Algerienne North African cuisine Maghreb Cuisine

Comments

[jeri]

I think fish recipes like these are great. I would love to try this out. I am a big fan of baked fish or grilled tuna, but I seldom cook seafood meals, I have to admit. I do like to cook pasta, so I try to make seafood pasta dishes or salads.