blackened tuna with avocado salsa

It’s the last supper.

At my house in Baltimore, that is. And yes, I only lived at this particular house for a year.

But we had GRANITE. Allow me a moment to grieve.

I knew I was meant to cook here one last time when I went to the grocery store and the wild caught tuna was on sale for $7.99 a pound. This is unheard of.

I was going to drizzle it with a garlic and cilantro dressing-type-thing. Unfortunately I packed my blender and my food processor already. Don’t worry, mom, only the trunk is packed. It is Baltimore, after all. I barely leave pennies in the cup holders.

I considered trying to get the blender out, but I like to think I inherited my father’s car-packing skills which means that it would be the equivalent of that game Rush Hour where you had to get the red car out of the parking lot. Not worth the effort.

Let’s just give everything a rough chop. It tastes the same. It’s rustic. The GS won’t know the difference. Thumbs up.

Blackened Tuna w/ Avocado Salsa

2 tuna steaks, approximately 4 oz each

1/4 cup blackening seasoning

1 avocado, diced

handful of cilantro, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced or grated

juice and zest of 1 lime

1/8 red onion, thinly sliced

Crafting a blackening seasoning was also interesting because I had some spices packed and then some hanging out in random cupboards. I think I put in paprika, thyme, oregano, garlic powder, and salt. It’s all a blur. (I did it five minutes ago.)

You can buy pre-made blackening seasoning, or use this one that I tried with chicken and smoked out the kitchen in my previous residence.

Rub both sides of the tuna with your seasoning- you’ll need a decent amount of it. Let it hang out and come to room temperature.

Mix up your “avocado salsa.” Let’s be real. This is basically guacamole but it’s not all smashed together. Avocado, garlic, cilantro, lime juice and zest, red onion, salt & pepper. Refrigerate.

Then we heat up a skillet (orrrr a pasta pot.. my kitchen tools are limited if you haven’t picked up on this). Spritz some cooking spray on one side of the tuna and sear it for 1-2 minutes, spray the other side, and flip. We want to barely cook the tuna- just get a nice crust on the outside and leave the inside super rare (read: raw).