Ahi Tuna with a Creamy Southwestern Sauce

My friend Elizabeth and I were once again in the kitchen cooking together. She is always so much fun in the kitchen because she loves to cook and try just about everything. She has a long list of things she would like to learn how to make. Every time we scratch one thing off the list, about 10 more new things appear. This time, she wanted to try her hand at making Southwestern Ahi Tuna steaks. So we did.

I marinated the tuna steaks in some cumin, sage, cayenne pepper and olive oil for about 30 minutes or so before Elizabeth arrived. Then we made the sauce together. As usual, it only takes a few basic and simple items that we almost always have on hand. I served the tuna steaks over wild rice, with green beans on the side, then topped it with our creamy corn and roasted Hatch pepper chili sauce.

Creamy Southwestern Sauce

This sauce can be used to top just about anything that can handle a bold and strong sauce. It would be great on chicken, steaks, pork, and as you can see, Ahi tuna or swordfish as well.

2 cups corn

1 red bell pepper, diced fine

1 -1 1/2 TBSP garlic

4 roasted Hatch chilies or 1- 2 jalapenos, diced fine

1/2 red onion, diced fine

1/3 cup lime juice

1-11/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 tsp cayenne pepper or to taste

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp dried sage or 1 TBSP fresh sage, chopped fine

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped fine

2-3 TBSP butter

oliver oil for cooking

Elizabeth is hard at work, cutting everything to perfection. She always has this big infectious smile, no matter what she is doing. 🙂

Cook the corn, onions, bell pepper and garlic together in the olive oil for about 2-3 minutes, or until the pepper and onions soften.

Add the lime juice and seasonings, and continue to cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add the cream and the roasted Hatch chilies and combine thoroughly. Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, and continue to cook for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the cilantro and the butter towards the end of the cooking process.

Elizabeth is tasting the final product to make sure all the seasonings and flavors are just right before we serve it over our tuna steaks.

Perfection! It’s ready to go over the tuna. We also let it flow over our green beans as well. I served it with a buttery chardonnay to make the meal complete.

Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.