Seared Tuna with Avocado and Wasabi Puree and Brown Rice-Quinoa Blend with Chia & Hemp Seeds {One Photo Friday}

Easy and healthy dinners that taste great are my favorite way to end the week. I have had my eye on this Diana Henry recipe from A Change of Appetite for a while now because of the simplicity and the combination of the ahi tuna and the guacamole with a punch of wasabi. I recently ate lunch at a restaurant that had what they called "Rich Rice"--a blend of quinoa, brown rice and chia seeds. It was good and added more nutrients to regular rice so I made my own version (adding hemp seeds to the mix) to serve with the tuna.

Diana says, "Ready in minutes, filling, zingy ... everything you could possibly want."

Seared Tuna with Avocado and Wasabi Puree
Adapted from A Change of Appetite by Diana Henry
(Serves 4)

For the tuna:
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1/4 cup soy sauce (I used low-sodium soy sauce)
back pepper
4 (6 oz) tuna steaks
pickled ginger to serve

For the puree:
2 completely ripe avocados
1 tsp wasabi paste, or to taste (I used 2 tsp)
juice of 1 lime, or to taste
sea salt

Mix the olive oil, garlic, soy sauce, and black pepper. Put the tuna steaks in a dish and pour the marinade over them, turning to coat. Let marinate for 30 minutes.

To make the puree, halve and pit the avocados and scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Mash with the wasabi and lime juice, add salt, and taste. Add more seasoning as needed.

Heat a ridged grill pan until it's really hot. Lift the tuna out of the marinade, gently shaking off any excess. Grill tuna for about one minute per side (this gives you a moist interior that is raw in the center).

Serve the tuna with the avocado puree, with pickled ginger on the side. Offer brown rice as well, if you like.  

Recipe Note: For the brown rice-quinoa blend, I put a cup of each into the rice cooker with about 3 cups of water, crushed ginger and garlic. When it finished cooking I stirred in 1 1/2 tablespoons each of chia seeds and hemp seeds and a touch of sea salt.  

Notes/Results: Lots to love with this dinner. The ahi gets just the right amount of flavor from the soy and garlic marinade and goes well with the avocado puree. I added extra wasabi to mine--I just didn't taste enough wasabi with the one teaspoon in the recipe. When you add the pickled ginger to the mix (one of these days I am going to get around to trying Diana's recipe for pickled ginger) along with the rice blend, it made a terrific light and healthy dinner. I would make it again. 

This post is linking up to I Heart Cooking Clubs where it is Potluck week. The chance to make any Diana Henry recipe or a recipe from any previous IHCC chef. You can see what everyone made by checking out the picture links on the post.

{One-Photo Friday: Since I normally drag out my big camera and gear, take a bunch of photos of my recipes, and then spend time obsessing over them--I decided that for Fridays, I'll simplify by posting a recipe or something interesting and then just take one photo of it with my iPhone--no muss/no fuss.}

Happy Aloha Friday!