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Wash tuna, pat
dry. Cut off any skin or really dark bits. Rub with 1 tsp. olive oil,
then sprinkle on SPICES and salt. Cover with saran wrap and let stand
at least 15 minutes for best flavor. Prepare everything else while the
tuna absorbs its delicious seasoning. Bring a kettle of water to a boil
over medium high heat for the pasta. Bring a small pot of water to a boil
for the broccoli, which should have most of the stem removed and be cut
into small florets. The pasta should cook for about 7 minutes (or according
to package directions), the broccoli about 3 (21/2 minutes if very small).
Heat a large nonstick skillet for the tuna over medium-high heat, add
2 tsp. olive oil. When hot, add the tuna. At this point, the pasta should
go in the pot--stir it once or twice during cooking. The tuna will need
about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare to rare for a really thick piece--less
if it is thinner. Turn it once, when crusty brown. Reduce heat a bit if
it is smoking or getting too brown. Put broccoli on to boil when there
are 3 minutes to go for the tuna. When tuna is done, remove to a plate
to rest. Immediately put the cherry tomatoes in the pan, cut side down.
Drain pasta, toss with olive oil and PASTA SPRINKLE and salt. Drain and
rinse broccoli, set aside. Cook tomatoes 1 minute, remove from pan, deglaze
pan with balsamic vinegar. Add pasta to the frying pan, toss to coat.
Divide pasta between plates, topping with tomatoes and broccoli. Slice
the tuna across the grain as thin as possible--ahi tuna slices nice and
thin pretty easily. Use a large sharp chef's knife and don't worry if
a few pieces don't look quite perfect. Fan the tuna out across the bottom
of the pasta and serve. This meal is delicious served from piping hot
to room temperature.
Prep. time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Serves: 4
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