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Italy · Bluefin Tuna

Sicilian Sweet-and-Sour Tuna

Tonno in Agrodolce

Trapani has hauled in bluefin for a thousand years. This old Sicilian dish fries tuna steaks and covers them in onions cooked soft, then sharpened with vinegar, sugar and fresh mint.

  • Prep 15 min
  • Cook 30 min
  • Serves 4
  • Level Easy
Photo: Adriano Bragi · Pexels
Served with: Sicilian Orange and Fennel Salad ↓En Español

Ingredients

Tap each item as you gather it.

For the tuna

For the agrodolce

Method

Step by step, the way it is done on the island.

  1. Cook the onions. Warm 3 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onions and salt and cook over low heat 20 minutes, stirring now and then, until very soft and just golden.
  2. Make it sweet and sour. Stir in the vinegar, sugar and raisins and simmer 2–3 minutes until syrupy. Transfer to a bowl and wipe out the pan.
  3. Sear the tuna. Salt the steaks and dust lightly with flour. Heat 3 tbsp oil over medium-high and sear 1½–2 minutes per side, so they stay pink inside.
  4. Combine. Spoon the onions over and around the tuna, heat together 1 minute and scatter with the pine nuts and mint.
  5. Serve. Serve warm or at room temperature with an orange and fennel salad and bread.

On the side

The side dish that belongs with it, full recipe included.

Sicily, Italy

Sicilian Orange and Fennel Salad

Insalata di Arance e Finocchi

Juicy orange slices, crisp shaved fennel, red onion and black olives with good olive oil. Sicilians serve it with grilled and fried fish to cut the richness.

  • Prep 15 min
  • Cook 0 min
  • Serves 4
  • Level Easy

You need

  • 3 oranges (blood oranges if you can find them)
  • 1 fennel bulb, fronds saved
  • ½ small red onion, sliced very thin
  • 12 black olives, pitted
  • 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • ½ tsp flaky sea salt
  • Black pepper to taste

How to make it

  1. Peel the oranges. Cut the top and bottom off each orange, then slice away the peel and white pith with a sharp knife. Slice into rounds.
  2. Shave the fennel. Trim the fennel, cut it in half and slice it as thin as you can.
  3. Assemble. Arrange the fennel, oranges and onion on a platter. Scatter the olives, drizzle with the olive oil and any orange juice from the board, and finish with salt, pepper and chopped fennel fronds.

Photo: FotoosVanRobin · CC BY-SA 2.0

More ways to cook Bluefin Tuna

Same fish, a different corner of the sea.

Bermeo, Basque Country, SpainMarmitako: Basque Tuna and Potato Stew
Cojímar, CubaCuban Grilled Bluefin with Mojo
Santa Catarina, BrazilBrazilian Charcoal-Grilled Tuna