TUNA IN STEMPERATA SAUCE

(Tonno alla Stemperata)

Serves 6

2 tablespoons olive oil

6 tuna steaks (about 900 g/2 lb)

4 garlic cloves, minced

6 celery stalks chopped

150 g/5 oz pitted green olives

175 g/6 oz capers

5 tablespoons white wine vinegar

Salt and freshly ground pepper

75 g/3 oz sultanas, plumped in hot water for 10 minutes

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan that is large enough to accommodate all the fish in one layer. Sauté the fish steaks a minute or two on each side, or until they are lightly browned.

Remove the fish, and in the same oil sauté the garlic and the celery, stirring constantly, until golden. Add the olives, the sultanas, and the capers, and cook over a low heat for 2 or 3 minutes.

Remove from the heat and arrange the steaks in the pan, spooning the cooked ingredients on top of them. Add the vinegar and a sprinkling of salt and black pepper. Cook for a minute over a high heat to evaporate the vinegar, then simmer for about five minutes longer, according to the thickness of the steaks. Serve cold.

Eastern Sicily boasts another recipe for tuna with vinegar, which is generally known as tonno alla Siracusana.