Pancakes and Tuna... not together of course.

So here it is, Lent has officially begun and we're all supposed to start giving up chocolate or going vegetarian  for the duration just so we can stuff our faces and make ourselves sick on Easter Sunday. I've personally never been a fan of this whole Lenten fasting malarky, similar to New Year's resolution I always find myself failing at the first hurdle then feeling bad for the rest of Lent as I gorge myself on all the chocolate you stronger willed folk can't eat. This year however, rather than shunning the whole Lent thing all together I've decided that instead of giving something up I'm going to take something up like we were always encouraged to do at shcool (yes I went to Catholic school). Now by take something up I don't mean drinking in the morning or casual sex, I mean something beneficial and this is why I have decided to join the gym. Not an entirely new venture, I've been toying with the idea since I started my new job which has a gym on site and offers a hefty discount for staff joining but for me joining a gym is a big step. As most people will vouch I've been pretty much gym-phobic since as long as I can remember, but now is time for change and taking on new ventures so as of next week I will be a gym member! Besides, it's not big secret that writing a food blog can be hazardous for your waistline, got to combat that somehow!

But before all the health kicks and gym regimes kick in we get pancake day, a day which I am a big fan of. Not a year goes by when I don't gather a host of hungry friends around and cook up a stack of pancakes. In fact, if ever a year does go by where I don't get to do this I get rather upset so it's better really just to humour me and act keen. I'm not sure why I love pancake day so much, it's certainly not to do with the eating as, actually, I really don't like pancakes but I do love making them. I think perhaps it's because pancakes were the first thing my mum ever taught me to cook that and the fact that, other than me, you're hard pushed to find someone who isn't quite happy to devour stack after stack of them. I always use Delia Smith's recipe for making them as they tend to come out a nice consistancy  (I prefer my pancakes to be thinner, more like crepes). Anyway, they went down well and the boys certainly had a lot of fun experimenting with toppings, although I didn't get any pictures of the most decorative ones they got eaten too quickly! Boys hey?

Finally, we get to the crux of the post! As I'm not one of the many people out there who are happy to have pancakes as dinner on shrove Tuesday I had to find myself an alternative evening meal before the pancake cooking began. This came in the form of a tuna loin found for an absolute barginous price in my local supermarket. There si nothing I love more than tuna fish. I mean seriously. I eat it at least 2 or 3 times a week, normally from a tin and normally mixed with mayonnaise in a salad or sandwich or stirred in with a pasta sauce. The price of tuna steaks means it's rare I get the chance to eat it how i love it best, just lightly seared and still very pink in the middle. To celebrate the bargin tuna find I made up a little caper and white wine sauce to go with it. Recipe and picture after the jump.



 Tuna in a Caper and White Wine Sauce

Cooking this dish I realised that I do not measure anything at all, so if you makethis dish you'll have to keep tasting to make sure it's ok, my measurements are a bit of a guess.

Ingredients
2 fresh tuna steaks
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large or 2 small cloves garlic, minced
zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
glass white wine
1tsp capers, rinsed
salt and pepper to taste
handful fresh parsley, chopped

Method

1. Melt the butter in a pan with the oil over a medium heat. When heated add in the minced garlic and soften for a few minutes.
2. Pour in the wine and juice and zest of 1/2 lemon. Recude for a few minutes to cook off the alcohol and add a pinch of salt and a good amount of pepper.
3. While the sauce is reducing heat a griddle pan and sear tuna on all sides so that it is still pink in the middle (how much you cook really depends on how rare you like your tuna. I like mine just warm in the middle but if you prefer it more cooked, take the sauce off the heat and cook for a while longer).
4. At the last minute add the rinsed capers and chopped parsley and cook for about another minute, just to warm through.
5. Plate tuna and pour sauce over the top. Serve with rice, potatoes or cooked vegetables.