Who doesn’t love Taco Tuesday? But let’s be real, it can get boring. The same old ground beef, or sometimes maybe switch to ground turkey or chicken. But it’s like…..it’s still all kinda the same. Have no fear – TUNA TACOS ARE HERE.
These are suuuuper easy. It may seem like a lot of ingredients, but don’t be intimidated. Each step, the relish and the crema come together in a cinch. They can even be made the day before and kept in the fridge – both are actually better as they sit!
Tuna is one of my favorite things to make, and for two reasons: 1. it’s delicious, and 2. it’s so easy! And cooks in no time. I like to eat my tuna rare, which means you have to start off with tuna that’s from a trusted grocery store or fish market. It’s seared just a few minutes each side to get a nice crust, and sliced thin to unveil that gorgeous pink color.
But before you even do all of that, you’ll need to make the cucumber relish and wasabi crema. The cucumber relish gives a nice crunch and burst of that vinegary flavor. The wasabi crema brings the cooling yet spicy component. And when I say spicy, I mean SPICY. Wasabi is that take your breath away, clear your sinuses kind of spicy, so l definitely suggest starting with 1/4 teaspoon, and working your way up. The good news though, is if you happen to add a liiitttllee too much (don’t worry, I did the same thing), you can offset the spiciness with more lime juice and/or greek yogurt. You can usually find this paste in the Asian section of your grocery store, or if you have an Asian specialty market near you, they will most definitely carry it.
Right before it’s time to build, I like to warm my tortillas up and give them a little char. I turn the heat to medium-low, and place the tortilla directly onto the flame. DO NOT WALK AWAY, I REPEAT: DO NOT WALK AWAY! These little tortillas char up very quickly, so be careful not to burn them or leave them on tooooooo long. Literally, only a few seconds and they are puffing up and turning color.
Slice your tuna, about 1/4″ thick, layer them in the warm tortilla, top it with the relish and a drizzle of the crema. Garnish with sliced scallion and sesame seeds. All you need is a side of brown or white rice, a margarita, and you are ready to Take On Taco Tuesday! Enjoy!!
Blackened Tuna Tacos with a Cucumber Relish and Wasabi Crema
Equipment
- Garlic Press
- Cast Iron Pan
Ingredients
Tuna
- Blackened seasoning:
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- ½ tablespoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne
- About 1.5 lbs fresh tuna steaks
- Street Taco 4.5” tortillas
Cucumber Relish
- 1 cucumber diced
- ¼ red onion diced
- 1 clove of garlic
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
Wasabi Crema
- ½ cup greek yogurt
- Wasabi paste this is spicy, so will depend on how you like it, but start with 1/4 teaspoon**
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ lime juiced
- Salt and pepper
- Half and Half or water to thin it out
- 1 Scallion diced and sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- Preparation:
- Make the relish: combine the cucumber and red onion in a small bowl. Using a garlic press (or super finely dice), smash the garlic into the cucumber mixture. Add the sugar, rice vinegar, olive oil, and sprinkle of salt and pepper. Mix it all to combine, cover with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge to chill for at least half hour. You can make this also the day before, it will only get better as it sits!
- Make the wasabi cream: add the yogurt to a small bowl. Add the wasabi paste, start with a 1/4 teaspoon.. it’s SPICY! Add the garlic powder, lime juice, and sprinkle of salt and pepper. Taste to see if you want to add more wasabi. If it’s too spicy, add more lime juice and greek yogurt to tame it down. One you get the cream to the right spice level for you, slowly drizzle in half and half or water, mixing vigorously. You want the consistency where you can drizzle the cream onto the tacos. Once the consistency is good, cover with plastic wrap and keep it cool in the fridge.
- Take your tuna out of the fridge. In a small bowl, add all of your blackening seasoning and mix until everything is combined. Liberally season each side of the tuna, lightly pressing it into the meat.
- Preheat your cast iron with a drizzle of canola or vegetable oil. You want to get your pan screaming hot, when it starts to slightly smoke, it’s ready. The tuna will only take about 1-2 minutes each side, for rare. The blackening seasoning will help the tuna get a nice brown crust. When the tuna is done on both sides (you should still see the rare tuna on the thick side), remove from the cast iron onto a cutting board.
- While the tuna rests, get the relish and crema from the fridge. With the tortillas, I like to get a little color on them. I do this by turning the flame on medium low, and using tongs, place the tortillas directly onto the flame. These will get color on them FAST, so do not walk away from them. Turn them over when once side gets some marks on them, and repeat for the rest.
- When the tortillas are browned and done, slice the tuna, against the grain, about 1/4” thick. Time to assemble! Lay a few pieces of tuna in the tortilla, top with a dollop of the cucumber relish, and a drizzle of the cream. Garnish with sliced scallions and sesame seeds. Enjoy!
