Swahili Seared Tuna

Seared tuna medallion with mango-vanilla salsa and banana oil

This is a tuna dish that I often served while working on Mafia Island. I would get tuna delivered fresh and usually strapped to the back of a bicycle. A fresh glassy-eyed Yellowfin with bright red gills would fetch about 2000 TZS per kilo. Roughly $1 USD per pound.

1. Simmer banana peels in sunflower oil for about twenty minutes. Stir in a pinch of turmeric and allow to sit in refridgerator
for two days. Strain and reserve.

2. Start by trimming out the eye of a Yellowfin tuna loin. Cut the eye of loin into medallions about one inch thick. Reserve.

3. Next equal parts of cardamom, cinnamon, and corriander seeds and pound them with a chilli pepper in a mortar and
pestle.
When they have been powdered transfer to a hot dry frying pan and toast until fragrant.

4. Rub the Zanzibar spice mix onto the tuna medallions and reserve.

5. Peel, seed, and fine dice a cucumber. Peel, remove stone, and fine dice a mango and combine with cucumber. Slice
lengthwise and scrape two vanilla beans and mix with cucumber-mango mix.

6. Squeeze a small amount of lemon juice into cucumber-mango mix and allow to sit for thirty minutes.

7. Bring tuna to room temperature. Salt and the sear tuna on all sides over high heat. You will only need about 5 seconds
on each side.

8. Drizzle some banana oil on plate. Place seared tuna on plate and top with some salsa. Garnish with vanilla bean
trimmings and a bit of fresh cracked black pepper.