Seared Tuna, White Bean and Fennel Salad
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 to 6 servings
- 1 to 1½pounds tuna fillets, in 2-inch-thick slices
- Salt
- ½teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 1teaspoon fennel seeds, toasted and coarsely ground
- 1teaspoon dried fennel pollen (optional)
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1small to medium red onion
- 6cups cooked cannellini or other white beans
- 4tablespoons fresh lemon juice, more to taste
- 1teaspoon lemon zest
- 2garlic cloves, pressed or minced to a paste
- ½teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes
- 2smooth, pale green medium fennel bulbs
- 2tablespoons freshly chopped parsley
- 1tablespoon chopped fennel fronds
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
864 calories; 8 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 131 grams carbohydrates; 34 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 72 grams protein; 960 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Season tuna generously on both sides with salt, then sprinkle with the black pepper, fennel seed and pollen (if using). Drizzle very lightly with olive oil and rub the seasoning into the fillets with your hands. Set aside at room temperature.
- Step 2
Peel and dice the onion and soak in ice water for 10 minutes (this will tame its bite). Drain the beans and put in a bowl. Add a generous sprinkling of salt and 2 tablespoons lemon juice and stir. Drain onions and add to beans. Stir in 1 tablespoon olive oil and toss to coat. Transfer to a serving platter and set aside at room temperature.
- Step 3
Make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons lemon juice, the lemon zest, garlic, a pinch of salt, crushed red pepper and 3 tablespoons olive oil.
- Step 4
Place a wide cast iron pan over high heat. When it is hot, add tuna. Cook for about 2 minutes, until a golden brown crust forms, then flip and cook for 1 to 2 minutes more. Take care not to let the spices scorch; reduce the heat if necessary. The exterior of the fish will be cooked, but the interior will be quite rare. For medium-rare, cook an additional 2 minutes on the second side. Remove from pan and transfer to a cutting board to cool.
- Step 5
Using a very sharp knife or mandoline, slice fennel crosswise into very thin slices. Salt lightly and toss with dressing. Arrange dressed fennel around the edge of the platter, surrounding the beans.
- Step 6
Cut the tuna in ½-inch slices and arrange over beans. Sprinkle with parsley and fennel fronds and serve at room temperature.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Dresser
I think someone put in the WHOLE calorie amount per serving by mistake. I blame the Russians.
Gerald
With canned beans, let them soak in lemon juice with the rinsed onion, salt and olive oil for about 30-40 min before adding to the rest of the dish while you prep everything else. That softened them up a good bit.
Sean
Keep the tuna fillets frozen. TJs sells these individually shrink wrapped. Let the fish thaw just enough that the seasoning will stick to the outside of the fish, then sear for about 3 minutes each side, or until a good crust forms. Let the fillets rest for a few minutes (the fish will continue to thaw). Perfectly seared tuna with a bright pink middle every time.
jwg
I added a layer of arugula on top of the beans. A great counterpunch to the sweet, licorice-y fennel.
Debbie
How in the world does the calorie count for this seemingly simple (and delicious-sounding) salad come in at almost 1300 per serving? For 4 servings that would be roughly 5,000 per recipe. Even allowing for 4 tablespoons of olive oil (480 calories) and 6 cups of beans (1200), that would mean a 4 oz serving of tuna checks in at about 900 calories. If that's true, I'm swearing off sashimi forever.
Dave G
Note that the nutritional info is for four servings whereas the recipe is 4-6. I just made it and the full recipe would definitely be for six (otherwise, 1.5 cups of beans person!?). So I think you could safely discount the stated amounts by about 30-35% It is delicious by the way and working at a decent pace took barely 30 minutes. Make sure to get thick tuna though. I had to use 1 in. thick pieces and it was impossible to get a crust and also cook it rare. But still great!
Tim Carroll
Wow. Simple, but amazing. Only tweaks were to add ¼ tsp of szechwan peppercorns to pepper and fennel rub. This gave it added complexity. I also added a bed of baby romaine dressed with only olive oil and salt under everything. This gave it a bit more green and added another texture. Will definitely be making this again when the weather gets warm.
Landon Davis
The calorie count is just an error. That should be closer to 550 i believe.
Stuart Shaw
A cracker of a dish. I followed the hints and soaked the onion in ice water and let the beans stand in the lemon juice and olive oil for some time. Thumbs up from the family. I’d run out of fennel seads so I used cumin and to delicious effect.
Scott
That cannot be accurate. One serving of white beans is 100 calories, 4.5 oz of tuna is 200 calories, 1 cup of fennel is 27 calories and a tbsp of evoo is 120 calories. So with a lot of oil and a big portion it couldn't be much over 600...
Nicky
For two people I halved the recipe -- one cup (dry) of beans (=3 cups cooked), 3/4 lb of tuna, one bulb fennel. But the whole amount of dressing. We had about 1/3 left over (lunch!). Very easy recipe, and very tasty. I used the grill pan for the tuna -- perfect.
melissa
A mix of orange and lemon juice is good. Served with a few orange slices.
big sue
This is wonderful. Sushi grade tuna steaks a must! The toasted fennel seeds AMAZING flavor. We modified this for two people, but still used 2 cans of beans. delish!
Jade
Lot this recipe. Wouldn't change a thing.
Kyle
Added blistered cherry tomatoes and barley to fill it out more. Definitely good adds.
Nora
Cooking tuna from very cold was fine, 2 min one side, one minute the other. Tossed fennel S&P on plate and pressed tuna into it, drizzling with evoo. Warmed beans. Nice atop arugula. Modified for three by halving all ingredients except the dressing.
Shari
Made this today and it was great. A nice, light dinner. I loved the fennel crust on the tuna and searing was super easy. I followed the note by Sean about searing from frozen. Did 2 mins per side and it was perfect. I also added arugula to the bean mixture, as one other person said and it was great!
ParisPieInTheSky
Incredible dish- I skipped the fennel pollen and didn’t miss it. I also used a bit more lemon juice in the bean mixture. The crunch from the sliced fennel was delicious. I also cooked a few small yellow potatoes for a bit of contrast on the side. The whole family loved it.
Gloria
This was so good. Made it according to the recipe with the addition of a few boiled mini potatoes.
McKenzie
This is a new favorite. The crushed fennel seeds really added something nice to the fish and the lemon juice was so lovely with the crunchy fennel. My toddler loved this!
Chris
Quite delicious with sardines on top instead of tuna.
lobsterman
Cooked a 3/4 lb. piece day boat landed from Exeter farmer’s mkt, less than 2” thick. Brought to Abpcadia. Used prepared white beans from Bow Street. Becky wanted her piece 2 and 3 min. and next time let her do it. Mine should have been 2 and 2 perhaps higher initial temp. Half pound would have worked.
Laura G.
This recipe illustrates what I love about David Tanis recpies. Precise, classic but appropriate for modern (American) tables. I screwed up the dressing situation (made it all at once and put it on the beans to marinate) and didn't have fennel, but it still worked out great. Perfectly cooked tuna (I went closer to medium rare). I will say, though, that ten minutes in water doesn't do much to tame onions' bite. I'd say 30 with several rinses, and cut smaller than "dice" suggests)
Sharon
Loved this and made it twice. The first time I was in Costa Rica and they had fresh tuna frozen cut in small chunks. I said, “what the hay,” and used it. So today I used one frozen fillet of tuna, cut it in 1/2-1” pieces, seasoned it and seared it fast in oil and butter. Worked perfect as a salad.
Alex
@jwg, thank you for the excellent idea of adding arugula - it was great! (And made this a nutritious full meal.) I like that this salad lends itself to improvisation. I used chickpeas instead of white beans and added carrot shavings.
melissa
A mix of orange and lemon juice is good. Served with a few orange slices.
epmolander
This was a delicious, summery meal. I used an ahi steak that was about 1 1/4" thick.
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