Sesame-Crusted Ahi

So I was downloading some photos to send someone, when I realized I had pictures of last week's dinner that I had never gotten around to posting.  Whoops.  Now that I'm not forcing myself to post every 3 or 4 days, I'm forgetting it altogether.  I'm also not cooking much, and mostly doing pantry projects because I stocked up on a lot of grains and beans in December without thinking that they have to be gone by April.  I may have to lock up some in the garage for Passover.

Previously-frozen Ahi tuna steaks were on sale at Sprouts for $6.99 a pound.  That's a great price, so I bought one big enough for three meals.  If you're not going to cook a fish thoroughly, getting previously-frozen is a good idea.  It kills most of the possible pathogens, including worms.  When you go out for sushi, the restaurant knows the right suppliers to get safe fish to consume raw.  At the market, they assume you're going to cook it and get slightly lower quality.

This recipe was super easy.  I did it in the last five minutes that the rice was cooking, from start to finish.

1 thick-cut ahi tuna steak, a little over 1 pound
1 Tb olive oil
*1/4 C sesame seeds
salt & pepper

1.  Set medium skillet over medium-high heat to preheat while you season the fish.

2.  Cut steak into 4 pieces.  Rub all sides of fish pieces with oil.  Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper, then coat tops and bottoms with sesame seeds.  They might not want to stick at first.

3.  Set pieces in hot skillet.  Cook until sesame seeds are toasted golden and the fish looks cooked about 2 or 3 millimeters deep.  This should take no more than 2 minutes, preferably closer to 1.  Turn up the heat if it's taking too long.  Flip the fish and do the other side until seeds are toasted.  Carefully turn the pieces on their edges to lightly sear the open ends, but only for about 10 seconds per side.  You want the center of the fish to be raw.

4.  To serve, you can either place the fish on a plate as-is, or slice it for effect.  This also works well as a salad topping, sliced into thin strips.  I used soy sauce, but a ponzu or ginger dressing would work well.

Difficulty rating  π