Blackened tuna and roasted peppers sauce

My mother-in-law introduced me to quinoa in 1999, when I started dating my husband. She was a very health-conscious woman and was highly invested in grains, tons of vegetables, fruits, and nuts. Her meals were always healthy yet tasty.

So I’ve always enjoyed quinoa and often try to eat it with different foods. I don’t have a preference for the black, red, or white version. I cook the trio.

Tuna, tuna, tuna

I love tuna, even though it’s not on my list of favorites. Growing up in Dominica, I’d only eaten tuna boiled in coboullion sauce, in braff (broth) or fried. However, when I migrated to Canada, my late uncle introduced me to tuna sushi, and to this day, I always order it whenever I’m in the mood for sushi. When I went on my honeymoon to Bora Bora, 21 years ago, (before it was a popular honeymoon destination), I was introduced to ceviche and it has been life-changing. One of the other fav ways that I embrace tuna is seared. It’s lightly cooked so it’s still tender.

Lately, I’ve been enjoying tuna blacken. Don’t let the term scare you. It’s just prepared with lots of dried spices under high heat, and still tender on the inside.

You can use any Cajun seasoning for your blackened tuna, but I did my own and used smoked paprika, black pepper, garlic, cayenne pepper, turmeric, and salt. I used a concentrated amount to make sure that the tuna steaks got full coverage.

For the sauce, I made a roasted peppers sauce. I didn’t roast the peppers myself, but I bought a jar from my local grocery store, purred it, added cream, some black pepper, and a little salt and garlic.