Seared Ahi Tuna Salad with Citrus Ginger Dressing – Paleo, Gluten Free
Full disclosure, when I was asked to make this for the family I cook for, I expected to just make it, serve it but definitely not fall in love with it. I’ve never been a seared ahi tuna type of girl. I’d have the occasional tuna sushi but had never tried a seared ahi tuna salad.
But while I was making this super easy yet gorgeous salad, I tried a piece because it actually looked really good. One bite and I was sold. I wasn’t a raw tuna fan but all that has changed after tasting this beautiful delicious salad.
This was so easy too and what a presentation. I bought the most beautiful ahi tuna steaks at Sprouts for under $7 a pound. I purchased 4 tuna steaks which was about 2 pounds but that will feed 4. One tuna steak per person is all you need for this gorgeous salad which is approximately $3.50 per person for a salad you would pay over $10 for at a restaurant.
I lightly seasoned each steak on both sides with a little salt and pepper, heated up some toasted sesame oil and seared for 1 minute on each side. That’s it, 1 minute!
I sliced up my beautiful tuna into approximately 2 inch pieces and placed them on top a bed of baby greens from Trader Joes.
The dressing was super easy to whip up too. I managed to make this masterpiece in under 30 minutes from start to finish, from unwrapping the packaging to laying it out all pretty on a plate. That’s it!
- SALAD:
- 1 pound ahi tuna steak (1 pound will feed 2 people)
- 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
- 6 - 8 ounces of mixed baby greens
- 1 cup shaved carrots - about 4 carrots (I used my vegetable peeler to shave them)
- 3 green onions (use the green stems diced up small)
- 1 orange
- 1 mango
- 1 avocado
- 1 lemon (sliced to use as a garnish and to squeeze over salad for extra lemon flavor)
- salt
- pepper
- CITRUS GINGER DRESSING:
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon raw honey
- 1½ teaspoon minced fresh ginger
- 1½ teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 Tablespoon coconut aminos (can sub with soy sauce)
- 1½ Tablespoon lemon juice
- 4 Tablespoons fresh orange juice
- DRESSING:
- Make your dressing first so all of the ingredients can get well acquainted while you are searing the tuna.
- In a medium bowl, combine all dressing ingredients and whisk until honey dissolves and everything is well blended. Set aside.
- SALAD:
- Start by getting your orange and mango together. Peel and section the orange. You can run a small knife under the clear outer casing of each orange segment and gently peel it off revealing the raw orange segment, set aside.
- Peel and slice small chunks of mango, set aside.
- Peel and using your vegetable peeler, shave a cup of carrots, set aside.
- Peel and slice avocado, set aside.
- Place lettuce on your favorite plates and sprinkle with orange segments, mango chunks and shredded carrots.
- Place avocado slices along the side of salad as a garnish along with a couple of lemon slices.
- TUNA:
- If your steaks are large, you can cut it in half. Each piece should be about the size of your hand from wrist to tip of fingers.
- Heat sesame oil in a large pan over medium/high heat.
- Generously sprinkle salt and pepper on each side of each tuna steak.
- Once oil is hot, place tuna steaks in pan and let sear for about a minute on each side. If you prefer your tuna cooked longer, then go right ahead and let your freak flag fly and cook it longer.
- Once seared to your preference, cut warm tuna into slices and lay atop of your lettuce.
- Give your dressing another whisk and drizzle over each salad.
- High five yourself!
