5 recipes that use tuna steak, with photos, step-by-step instructions and cook times. The quickest, Estupeta de atum, takes 30 minutes. It is most often cooked with garlic, onion and bay leaves.
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From Vila Real de Santo António to Tavira, cebolada means a deep pan of onions cooked slowly in olive oil with garlic, bay and tomato, finished with a splash of vinegar, and tuna steaks laid in it to braise. Fishing families made it with the cheaper cuts from the tuna traps; restaurants still serve it on weekday lunch menus with boiled potatoes. Chef's tip: give the onions their full 25 minutes, so they turn sweet and jammy before the tuna goes in.
When the almadraba nets bring bluefin tuna ashore in Barbate and Zahara de los Atunes in May and June, households along the Cádiz coast make atún encebollado: chunks of tuna braised in a mountain of onions cooked down until sweet and golden, with bay, pepper and a splash of fino. Any good tuna steak works the rest of the year. This recipe uses wine; the alcohol-free option is in the ingredient note. Chef's tip: the onions take the time, the tuna does not; add it only for the last few minutes, or it turns dry and grey.
Vila Real de Santo António and Tavira grew rich on tuna, and estupeta is what the fishing families made from the salted belly: shredded into threads and tossed with tomato, green pepper and onion in a sharp olive-oil dressing. Today it appears every summer in tascas along the Guadiana as a starter with bread and cold drinks. The traditional salted tuna is cured, not cooked, so it is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system; this version uses fresh tuna poached until cooked through, which anyone can eat. Chef's tip: shred the tuna with two forks while it is still warm, as it pulls into finer threads.
Ambul thiyal means 'sour stew', and it comes from the fishing towns of the south coast, around Matara, Galle and Tangalle. Fishermen once cooked it so the tuna would keep for days without a fridge: almost no liquid, plenty of goraka and black pepper, slowly reduced in a clay pot until each chunk is dark and coated. Today it is a favourite rice-and-curry dish on Sundays and holidays, and people often pack it for long journeys. It is sharp, peppery and firm, so a little goes a long way with rice and a coconut sambol. Chef's tip: cut the tuna into big 4 cm chunks; small pieces fall apart during the long, slow reduction.
Encebollado is the morning soup of Guayaquil and the Ecuadorian coast, sold from street carts and small cevicherías from dawn and famous as a cure after a late night: tuna poached in a broth of tomato, cumin and chilli, with soft chunks of yuca, topped with a heap of lime-pickled red onion and coriander, and eaten with banana chips (chifles) and popcorn. The mistake is boiling the tuna until it goes dry; poach it gently and add it back at the end. Chef's tip: pickle the onion at least 20 minutes ahead so it turns pink and loses its sharpness.
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