Try this recipe for Tuna With Pine Nut & Anchovy Sauce

I grew up in a household with a very fussy eater, so my mother would sometimes sneak ingredients into a dish without letting my brother know. He would claim that he hated all sorts of things, like meatloaf, that included any meat besides ground beef and any kind of onions. My mother, who was a very good cook, knew the best meatloaf also contained ground veal and ground pork, as well as chopped onion.

She would mix these things together without letting him know — chopping up the onion very finely and carefully massaging the ground meats together. I don’t think he ever discovered the truth, but I disapproved of the deception, thinking he was being spoiled.

Lo and behold when I married, I discovered my husband, who was generally a very good eater, would not touch anchovies — an ingredient I loved for the unusual depth of flavor — called umami — it adds to dishes.

When I visited Spain with my friend Maureen a few years ago, I discovered what has become my all-time favorite food: a small tapas made from anchovies and blue cheese. I learned then that anchovies also have an affinity for tuna and olives. See Visit to Seville for one of my stories about that trip.

So when I found a recipe for tuna with anchovy sauce, I knew I had to make it. The recipe was among those in “Tarte Tatin,” a memoir by Susan Loomis, who is one of my favorite authors. Her ”French Farmhouse Cookbook” and “Italian Farmhouse Cookbook” are reliable kitchen companions from my bookshelves.

It felt like fate when I found frozen wild tuna fillets on sale at Heinen’s. Despite my husband’s dislike of them, I splurged on the best anchovies I could find.

I figured I’d give the tuna and anchovy sauce leftovers to Maureen, who shares my love of anchovies, if he opted instead for McDonald’s. But the sauce is made separately, so he could pass it up and slather his tuna with ketchup if he chose.

The sauce, made in my food processor, also included tantalizing flavors of pine nuts, capers, cinnamon and cloves. The dish, which went together quickly, intrigued him as I worked.

I served my own dish on a bed of the sauce and poured the rest over the top, garnishing it with chopped parsley. The remaining sauce went into a gravy boat for my husband to use — or not.

It was a delicious creation, and I shouldn’t have been surprised that he loved it. I don’t think he’s suddenly become an anchovy lover like me, but this dish has convinced him the tiny fish can deliver great flavor. Next time we’ll be cooking our tuna on the grill.

Here’s the recipe:

Tuna With Pine Nut & Anchovy Sauce

(Serves 2)

Ingredients

2 tuna steaks

3 anchovy filets, drained

⅛ cup dry white wine

½ cup pine nuts

1 large pinch ground cinnamon

1 small pinch ground cloves

½ tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1-½ tablespoons salted capers, rinsed, soaked in warm water 15 minutes then drained

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

½ cup flat parsley leaves for garnish

Instructions

Rinse tuna steaks and pat dry.

Refrigerate until ready to use.

If anchovies are packed in salt, rinse and then soak them in wine for a few minutes to reduce excess salt. If packed in oil, just pat them dry.

In a food processor, combine anchovies, pine nuts, cinnamon, cloves, vinegar and capers.

Puree, pulsing on and off.

With the machine running, slowly add all but 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a thin stream and process until mixture is quite thick but pourable.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Liberally season the tuna steaks on both sides with salt and pepper.

Heat remaining olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat.

When oil is hot but not smoking, add tuna steaks and cook until tuna is cooked as you like it. I prefer it slightly undercooked: about 3 minutes on one side and 2 minutes on the other.

While tuna cooks, mince the parsley.

To serve, pour half the sauce on a warmed serving platter and top with tuna steaks.

Pour remaining sauce over the steaks and sprinkle with parsley.

— Adapted from “Tarte Tatin” by Susan Loomis