Fredericksburg Cooking Academy

                     
                  Seared Tuna Nicoise Canapes  (France)

Recipe By:              Carol Seminara
Serving Size  :        24   
Categories    :         6 Flavors Over Texas

  Amount                  Ingredient 
     1/2                       pound  tuna — sushi-grade, 1 inch thick
     1/4                       cup  soy sauce
  1                              tablespoon  tapenade — black olive paste
  6                              nicoise olives — pitted and coarsely chopped
  3                              tablespoons  drained capers
     1/4                       cup  mayonnaise — homemade or best quality store-bought
  1                              pound  red potatoes — small, unpeeled
  24                           green beans,thin — or haricot verts
  2                             small  plum tomatoes
                                 olive oil spray

• Cut the tuna against the grain into 1/2-inch thick strips. Cut
  each strip into 1-inch long pieces; you should have 24 pieces of
  tuna. In a medium bowl, combine the soy sauce and olive paste. Add
  tuna and gently stir to coat. Cover and let marinate in the
  refrigerator for a least 1 hour or up to 3 hours.
• Drain tuna slices and pat dry with a paper towel; set aside.
• Over a medium-high flame, heat a large skillet and spray
  generously with olive oil. Sear each tuna slice, turning once, until well-browned, about 15 seconds per side. Transfer cooked tuna to paper towels to drain. Let cool, the cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day.
• Chop olives with 1 tablespoon of capers to form a chunky paste. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in the mayonnaise.
• Cut potatoes crosswise into 24 slices, each about 1/4-inch thick. Place rounds in a medium saucepan of cold, salted water and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower heat to medium and cook the potatoes until tender, about 7 - 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cooked potato slices to paper towels to drain.
• Bring the salted water back up to a boil and add the haricot
  verts. Boil over moderately high heat until tender, about 1 minute. Drain the green beans, rinse with cold water to stop their cooking and transfer them to paper towels to drain. Cut 1-inch from both tips of each green bean and reserve for garnish.
• To assemble, spoon 1/2 teaspoon of the olive mayonnaise onto a potato slice. Set a piece of tuna on top and garnish each with 1/2 teaspoon of diced tomatoes, a few capers, and 2 haricot verts tips.                                    

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 48 Calories; 2g Fat (45.1% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 4mg Cholesterol; 190mg Sodium.  Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Fat.

NOTES : The tuna, olive mayonnaise, haricots verts and boiled potatoes
can all be prepared and refrigerated the day before. The assembled
canapes may be refrigerated for up to 8 hours.