Guilt - Free Italian (part 2) - Seared tuna steak with courgettes and capers, Courgettes with truffle and mint dressing, Fresh blackberry and Prosecco jelly

Seared tuna steak with courgettes and capers

Seared tuna steak with courgettes and capers

Serves 4

·         100 ml olive oil

·         4 tuna steaks (about 300g each)

·         3 garlic cloves, roughly sliced

·         5tbsp pine nuts

·         2 large courgettes, roughly sliced

·         200g cherry tomatoes, halved

·         5tbsp capers in salt, rinsed

·         1tbsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped

·         80g pitted green olives, halved

·         Salt and pepper

1. Heat 5 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large frying pan and cook the tuna over a medium heat for two minutes each side. Remove from the heat
2. Heat the remaining oil in a second frying pan and fry the garlic, pine nuts and courgettes for three to four minutes over a high heat. Add in the cherry tomatoes, capers, thyme and olives and season with salt and pepper. Cook for a further minute.
3. Spoons the courgette mixture over the tuna and return the pan to a medium heat. Cook the tuna for a further five minutes, uncovered, to allow the fish to absorb the flavor
4. To serve, place the tuna steaks in the center of a serving plate and pour a little of the courgette mixture over each portion of fish

Top tip

This tasty dish takes less than 15 minutes to cook, so it’s perfect for a quick fix after a long day. Tuna is an excellent source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids

Courgettes with truffle and mint dressing

Courgettes with truffle and mint dressing

Serves 4

·         4 medium courgettes

·         16 thin slices of white or black truffle

·         For the dressing

·         6tbsp extra virgin olive oil

·         3tbsp good-quality balsamic vinegar

·         1 garlic clove, finely sliced

·         3tbsp finely sliced fresh mint leaves

·         Salt and pepper

1. To make the dressing, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, garlic and mint in a large bowl and season the mixture with salt and pepper.
2. Thinly slice the courgettes lengthways using a swivel-blade potato peeler. Place the slices in the bowl with the dressing, season with more salt and pepper, mix well and leave to marinate for about 10 minutes.
3. To serve, pile the courgettes in the center of each of the four plates and top each serving with four slices of truffle. Serve with some warm crusty bread to mop up the dressing.

Top tip

If you can’t find fresh truffles, use truffles preserved in jars or even olive oil that’s truffle flavored

Fresh blackberry and Prosecco jelly

Fresh blackberry and prosecco jelly

Serves 6

·         130g caster sugar

·         Zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lemon

·         4tsp powdered gelatin

·         450ml prosecco

·         180g blackberries

1. Put the sugar in a medium saucepan with 300ml of water the lemon zest. Heat mixture gently until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat, leave it to cool and discard the lemon zest.
2. Put the lemon juice in a small bowl and sprinkle in the powdered gelatin. Leave to soak for three to four minutes. Place the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, ensuring that the base of the bowl doesn’t touch the water, for a couple of minutes until the gelatin has completely dissolved
3. Stir the gelatin into the sugar syrup together with the strawberry puree and the prosecco. Mix all the ingredients well
4. Meanwhile, divide three quarters of the blackberries among six glasses and carefully pour over enough of the liquid jelly to cover the fruit and chill until set. When the jelly has set, pour over the remaining liquid jelly to the top of the glass and refrigerate for live hours until the whole lot is set
5. Decorate with the served blackberries and serve

Top tip

You can substitute the prosecco for a good Champagne and the blackberries for strawberries if you prefer