Spiced Tuna with Mediterranean Wine Sauce

I'm always puzzled when presented with a nice tuna steak to cook.   So many recipes have  tomato-based sauce that overwhelms the subtle flavor of the meat. This wine-sauced dish has become one of our favorites because the crushed fennel seed crust highlights the tuna's flavor, and the wine sauce.... well, just make sure you have a crusty baguette loaf to sop up every drop. I think this also works well with a chicken cutlet that's been pounded thin.

4 servings

 Ingredients

1 cup dry white wine, divided

8 sun-dried tomato halves, packed without oil

1 tablespoon orange juice

2 teaspoons fennel seeds

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

1 tablespoon olive oil, divided

1/2 teaspoon salt, divided

1/2 teaspoon grated orange rind

2 garlic cloves, crushed

4 (6-ounce) tuna steaks (about 1 inch thick)

Cooking spray

3 tablespoons chopped pitted Greek olives

1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

2 cups hot cooked angel hair pasta (about 4 ounces uncooked pasta)

1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Preparation

Combine 1/2 cup wine and tomato halves in a 1-cup glass measure. Cover with plastic wrap, and fold back a corner to vent. Microwave at high 1-1/2 minutes or until mixture boils; let

stand, covered, 15 minutes. Strain tomatoes through a sieve into a bowl,

reserving liquid; chop tomatoes. Add chopped tomatoes, 1/2 cup wine, and

orange juice to the reserved tomato liquid; set aside.

Place fennel seeds and peppercorns in a spice or coffee grinder: process until

finely ground. Pour into a small bowl; stir in 1 teaspoon oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, orange rind, and garlic. Spread spice mixture evenly over 1 side of each tuna steak. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat; add steaks, crust sides down, to skillet. Cook for 5 minutes on each side or until fish is medium-rare or desired degree of doneness. Remove from heat; keep warm. Add wine mixture, 1/4 teaspoon salt,

olives, and black pepper to skillet; cook until reduced to 1/2 cup (about 3

minutes). Combine pasta, 1 teaspoon oil, and cheese in a bowl; toss well.

Serve tuna over pasta; drizzle with wine sauce.

Recipe originally from Cooking Light www.myrecipes.com/recipe/spiced-tuna-with-mediterranean-wine-sauce