The recipe
Put 4 tbsp of light miso paste into a shallow dish or deep plate, stir in 1 tbsp of ponzu sauce and 2 tbsp of groundnut oil. Season two 150g tuna steaks with a little black pepper, then lay them down in the marinade, turn and cover with clingfilm. Set aside for about half an hour.
Boil 200g of edamame beans for 10 minutes in lightly salted water, drain them, then blend in a food processor, with 2 tbsp groundnut oil, 2 tbsp of wasabi paste and a little salt. Taste the beans and add more wasabi paste if you wish. You are after a creamy, slightly hot purée.
Melt 30g of butter in a small pan. Grill the tuna lightly on both sides (an overhead grill is probably easiest). Stir the melted butter into the puréed beans just before serving. Divide the beans between two plates then place the tuna on top. Serves 2.
The trick
You don’t need me to tell you to check the provenance of your tuna, but I am reminding you just in case. Leave the fish in the marinade for a minimum of 20 minutes, but no longer than a couple of hours, which would alter the texture of the fish. Add the wasabi paste a little at a time and keep tasting. Watch the fish all the time it is under the grill because the miso paste burns very easily.
The twist
Use another oily fish if you prefer, such as salmon or mackerel. It needs to be fish that can take a strong marinade, such as the one above.
Email Nigel at nigel.slater@observer.co.uk. Follow Nigel on Twitter@NigelSlater
