Peppered tuna with sharp rhubarb

I did this Peppered tuna with sharp rhubarb.

First I ground up some white peppercorns and Sichuan peppercorns in my mortar and pestle – about a teaspoon or so.

Then I patted the pepper mix onto the top and sides of the tuna steaks and put it into the fridge to chill while I did the rhubarb.

You cut your rhubarb up into about an inch and a half sticks – if it is stringy give it a rough peel first. I used about 8 stalks.

Melt 15g of butter in a pot, add the rhubarb, 1 tablespoon of sugar and 5 tablespoons of water.  Gently simmer this until the rhubarb is tender.  It won't take long – maybe 5 minutes.  Then to make it sharp, add a teaspoon or so of good balsamic vinegar.  Taste it and get it to your liking by either adding a touch more vinegar or sugar to get it to your liking.

Then when that is ready cook the tuna pepper side down in a little oil.  Turn it over after a couple of minutes and then add a knob or 2 of butter into the pan and spoon it over the tuna as the other side cooks.  Sprinkle with a little salt and serve.  I managed to very slightly overcook this one – I think the hot butter over the top may have resulted in faster cooking than usual.

The tuna and the sharp rhubarb worked very well together.