HOT SMOKED TUNA NICOISE

Craving something fresh, zingy and packed with flavour? Try this simple-to-create hot smoked tuna nicoise, part salad, part grilled smoked fish brought together in delicious umami unison. The tuna is the real star of the show, so source the freshest tuna loin steaks you can find. We bought ours from The Fish Society, originally planning to try out some hot smoked sushi (a recipe for another day perhaps), but decided instead to lightly smoke, leaving the inside pink.

1. Finely chop the ginger, garlic, chilli and spring onions. Mix with the lime juice and lime zest. Marinade the tuna steaks for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile prepare your BBQ or smoker. You’ll need a medium heat to achieve a charring to the exterior and a quick blast of smoke flavour, but not for long, so that the tuna remains pink on the inside. We used Alder chips for a mellow complementary smoke flavour.

2. Whilst your coals come up to temperature, prepare the salad ingredients. Boil the eggs for 8 to 10 minutes then run under cold water until they are totally cooled before removing from the shells.

3. Place the baby spinach and rocket leaves in the base of your serving bowl.

3. Snap off the ends of the asparagus and steam for around 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse in cold water so they don’t continue to cook.

4. Halve the eggs and place on top of the leaves, intersperse with the asparagus and olives.

5. Remove the tuna from the marinade, coat with a generous seasoning of salt and pepper and place on your grill rack. Close the lid for the first few minutes to allow the smokiness to build and penetrate. Turn the tuna after around 4 minutes or when grill lines have appeared and grill the other side for just 2 or 3 minutes.

6. Remove from the smoker and place on a board to rest for a couple of minutes, then slice thickly. The inside should still be pink, the outside browned.

7. Arrange the tuna slices onto your salad base and scatter with capers. Dress with a combination of olive oil, lime juice, honey and mustard. Tuck in!