Entree: Portugal – Madeira – Bife de Atum (Pan-seared Madeira-style tuna steak with a garlic-shallot Madeira wine sauce)

Serving Size: 2

Approximate Time

Prep 10 min

Cook 7 min

Total 20 min

Ingredients

- 2 tuna steaks, approx. 8 oz (225 g) each
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil for searing
- 1 tsp (5 g) coarse sea salt
- 1/2 tsp (1 g) freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 small shallot, minced (about 1 oz / 30 g)
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) Madeira wine
- 2 tbsp (30 g) unsalted butter
- 1/2 lemon, juiced (about 1 tbsp / 15 ml)
- 2 tbsp (8 g) chopped fresh parsley
- Lemon wedges for serving

Instructions

1. Pat the tuna steaks dry and season both sides with coarse salt and black pepper. Let sit at room temperature 10 minutes. Heat a heavy skillet or grill pan over high heat until very hot.
2. Add 2 tbsp olive oil to the pan. Sear tuna steaks 1.5–2.5 minutes per side for rare to medium-rare, depending on thickness (for 8 oz / 225 g steaks this yields pink center). During the last 30 seconds of searing, add the crushed garlic and bay leaves to the pan to perfume the oil. Remove tuna to a warm plate and loosely tent.
3. Lower heat to medium and add the minced shallot to the same pan. Sauté 1–2 minutes until softened but not browned. Pour in the Madeira wine to deglaze, scraping any browned bits from the pan. Let the wine reduce by half, about 2–3 minutes.
4. Stir in the butter a piece at a time until the sauce is glossy, then add lemon juice and chopped parsley. Taste and adjust seasoning with a pinch of salt and pepper.
5. Spoon the sauce over the tuna steaks, garnish with lemon wedges and extra parsley, and serve immediately.