Seared Sesame Tuna with Pea, Avocado and Wasabi Mash, Pickled Ginger and Crispy Shallots

With this recipe I tried to recreate all my favourite flavours of a tuna and avocado sushi roll but in a slightly more refined, elegant dish. This made a lovely light main course but it would also make a great starter for a dinner party in smaller portions. The marinade for the steaks is sooooo tasty - salty, sweet, spicy, sour and sharp all at the same time with lots of deep umami flavours. The pea, avocado and wasabi mash works so well with the tuna, giving a background heat to the whole dish. With some crispy shallots, crushed wasabi peas and some pickled ginger on top for texture and flavour, this is a fresh and zingy recipe which will wake up your tastebuds.

(Serves 4 £2.39 per portion)
1. First make the marinade for your tuna. Put 3 tbsps soy sauce, 3 tsps mirin, 3 tsps mirin, 3 tsps sesame oil, 1 heaped tbsp freshly grated ginger, 3 finely sliced spring onions, the juice of two limes and a finely chopped red chilli in a bowl. Mix well and pour over the tuna steaks. Leave to marinade for no longer than 20 mins (any longer than this and the acidity of the marinade will start to cure the fish).
2. Cook 500g frozen peas and then add to a food processor with 1/2 tbsp of wasabi paste, 3 roughly chopped spring onions, half a bunch of coriander and an avocado. Blitz until the mash is smooth but still has some texture. Season and add some lime juice to taste. If you want more heat, add more wasabi.
3. Finely slice two shallots. Heat some sunflower oil in medium saucepan over a high heat and add the sliced shallots in batches until crispy and golden. Set aside to drain on kitchen paper and sprinkle with some sea salt flakes and 1 tsp of garlic granules.
4. Make your pickling liquid for your ginger by putting 50ml of water in a small saucepan with 60ml rice wine vinegar and 30g caster sugar. Bring to the boil then simmer over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Pour over your shreds of ginger and leave to cool for 30 mins before refrigerating. It can be eaten straight away or give it 24 hours for the flavours to develop.
5. Shake off any excess marinade from your tuna steak and fry in a very hot non-stick frying pan for 2 mins on each side for pink tuna (cooking time depends on the thickness of your steaks). While your tuna is resting, reduce the leftover marinade in the same pan over a high heat until thick and syrupy.
6. Serve the sliced tuna steak on top of the mash, drizzle over the reduced marinade and add some toasted sesame seeds, shredded spring onion, the crispy shallots, some crushed wasabi peas and the pickled ginger.