Fresh tuna with eggplants and cherry tomatoes, a simple and tasty sauce for pasta and an original fish main course. The fresh tuna sautéed in a pan with eggplants, cherry tomatoes and olives is an easy fish recipe, ideal as a sauce to dress a good plate of pasta and also great as a main course in a fish menu. If you’ve bought fresh tuna and don’t know how to cook it, this Mediterranean pan-seared tuna with eggplants is just right for you — you’ll see that in no time you’ll prepare a delicious dish! Before rushing to the kitchen, as always I remind you that if you want to stay updated on all my other recipes, you can follow my Facebook page and my Instagram profile.
Also check these fish-based recipes:
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Budget-friendly
- Rest time: 10 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4-5
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients to make Fresh tuna with eggplants and cherry tomatoes, Mediterranean style
This is the amount for a main course for 4 people; if you need to dress pasta for 4 people halve the ingredients and cook about 14 oz (400 g) of pasta.
- 2 eggplants (medium)
- 1 onion (large)
- 2/3 cup onion (chopped (about 3.5 oz))
- 1.1 lb fresh tuna
- 2 2/3 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1/3 cup Taggiasca olives
- 1/3 cup raisins
- 2 tbsp capers (desalted (rinsed))
- to taste salt
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup white wine (about 3.4 fl oz)
- to taste parsley
Tools
- Pan
- Stovetop
Preparation
For this recipe I decided to let the eggplants release some of their water, so I left them to rest for 10 minutes with salt. This way, the eggplants did not fall apart when cooked, but if you don’t have time you can skip this step and the result will still be excellent.
Peel the eggplants. Cut them into cubes and place them in a colander,
sprinkle with a little salt and wait for them to release part of their liquid. After about 10 minutes, rinse them thoroughly with clean water or under running water to remove the excess salt. Squeeze them by hand and pat them dry with a kitchen towel.
Peel, rinse and roughly chop the onion, place it in a pan and let it soften over low heat. Add the eggplant cubes to the onions and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the eggplants are soft and golden brown.
Add the fresh tuna cut into cubes and cook for 1 minute, stirring often, just long enough for it to change color and become lighter. Add the cherry tomatoes, olives, capers, raisins and mix.
Deglaze over high heat with the white wine and once it has evaporated turn off the heat and add chopped parsley if you like. Our dish is ready to be enjoyed hot or warm.
Storage and tips
The fresh tuna with eggplants and cherry tomatoes is best enjoyed immediately, but if you have leftovers store it in the fridge for up to 24 hours and quickly sauté it in a pan over high heat with a little oil before eating. It won’t be as soft and delicious as freshly made, but it will still be tasty.
