Blackened Tuna & Crawfish Recipe

Prepare and season tuna

Pat tuna fillets dry with paper towels. Evenly season both sides with kosher salt and black pepper. Coat each fillet with blackening seasoning, pressing gently so the spice adheres.

Blacken the tuna

Heat a heavy skillet (cast iron preferred) over high heat until smoking. Add neutral oil and 1 tablespoon butter, swirl to coat. Add tuna fillets and sear 1 to 1½ minutes per side for rare (adjust to 2–3 minutes per side for medium). Baste with melted butter during searing. Remove tuna to a warm plate and tent loosely with foil to rest 3–5 minutes.

Prepare eggplant

Trim ends of the eggplant, peel (optional) and cut into 1/2-inch dice. Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt and let sit 10 minutes to draw out moisture, then pat dry.

Saute aromatics

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add diced onion and cook until translucent, about 4–5 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook 30–45 seconds until fragrant.

Cook eggplant and tomatoes

Add the diced eggplant to the pan, toss to coat, and cook 6–8 minutes until softened and lightly browned. Stir in the crushed San Marzano tomatoes, tomato paste, red wine vinegar, sugar and fresh thyme. Simmer gently 10–12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens and flavors meld.

Finish relish

Season the relish with salt, pepper and lemon zest. Stir in chopped parsley, taste and adjust seasoning. Keep warm on low while you prepare the sauce and finish protein.

Prepare crawfish

If using frozen crawfish tails, thaw thoroughly and pat dry. Toss with 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning and set aside.

Make lemon butter sauce and warm crawfish

In a small sauté pan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add the minced shallot and cook 1–2 minutes until softened. Add minced garlic and cook 30 seconds. Deglaze with 1 tablespoon dry white wine and simmer until almost evaporated, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to low, whisk in remaining 4 tablespoons butter piece by piece to form an emulsion. Stir in fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper. Add crawfish tails and warm in the sauce for 1–2 minutes until heated through but not overcooked. Stir in chopped chives and remove from heat.

Divide the warm eggplant relish among 4 plates, forming a bed in the center of each plate.

Place a blackened tuna fillet atop each bed of eggplant relish.

Spoon the lemon butter sauce with crawfish tails over and around the tuna, distributing crawfish evenly (about 2 oz crawfish per plate). Drizzle a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil over each plate and garnish with microgreens or parsley sprigs and a lemon wedge.

Serve immediately. Recommended internal temperature: 115–125°F for rare tuna. Enjoy.