Tuna Confit

Ingredients

• 1 lb fresh tuna
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 4 pieces lemon peel (4 2-inch strips)
• 4 teaspoons capers, drained, more for garnish
• 1/2 tablespoon shallot, minced
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon sherry wine vinegar
• 1/2 tablespoon chicken stock
• 3 1/2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
• salt & fresh ground pepper

Directions

1. 1

   Place tuna in a bowl, cutting it into several pieces if necessary.

2. 2

   Add olive oil, the garlic, thyme and lemon peel.

3. 3

   Cover, and marinate 6 hours, refrigerated or at room temperature, or overnight in the refrigerator.

4. 4

   Transfer contents of bowl to a saucepan, bring to a simmer, lower heat and cook 5 minutes.

5. 5

   Shut off heat(tuna will still be pink in middle); let cool 30 minutes.

6. 6

   Remove tuna (reserving two tablespoons of the olive oil mixture), drain well, transfer to a bowl and mash coarsely with a fork.

7. 7

   Fold capers, shallots, mustard and sherry vinegar into tuna.

8. 8

   Whisk the 2 tablespoons of the olive oil with chicken stock and grape seed oil.

9. 9

   Fold into tuna.

10. 10

    Season with salt and pepper (mixture should be fairly loose).

11. 11

    To serve at once, place mounds of tuna on each of 6 salad plates, scatter with more capers and serve with toast/crostini, as a first course.

12. 12

    Otherwise, refrigerate tuna until 30 minutes before serving; then divide onto plates and serve.