- 600g/14oz baby tomatoes, cut in half horizontally
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 200g/7oz ciabatta, torn into small pieces
- 1 large banana shallot, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 tbsp capers, drained and rinsed
- 175g/6oz wood-roasted piquillo peppers, chopped (available from some supermarkets and from Continental delicatessens)
- 2 handfuls basil, leaves only
- 4 x 200g/7oz tuna steaks
- 1 lemon, zest only
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- For the salad, preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas 1.
- Place the tomatoes onto a baking tray, cut-side facing upwards.
- Drizzle over one tablespoon of the olive oil and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Transfer the tomatoes to the oven and cook for one hour, or until softened and slightly dried out. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.
- Increase the oven temperature to 220C/450F/Gas 8.
- Place the ciabatta pieces onto a baking sheet and drizzle over two tablespoons of the olive oil. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Transfer to the oven and cook for 5-7 minutes, or until crisp and golden-brown.
- Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the shallot and fry for 2-3 minutes, or until softened.
- Blend two-thirds of the roasted tomatoes and all of the red wine vinegar and olive oil in a food processor to a fine purée.
- In a bowl, add half of the purée mixture to the crisp ciabatta croûtons and set aside to soak for five minutes.
- Stir in the remaining roasted tomatoes, capers, piquillo peppers and basil leaves. Set aside.
- For the tuna, place the tuna steaks onto a large plate.
- In a bowl, whisk together the lemon zest, garlic and olive oil until well combined. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Pour the mixture over the tuna steaks and turn to completely coat them in the mixture. Set aside to marinate for 30 minutes.
- When the tuna has marinated, heat a griddle pan over a medium heat until hot. When the pan is hot, add the tuna and cook for one minute.
- Give the tuna a quarter turn and cook for a further minute.
- Turn the tuna by a quarter again and continue to cook for a further minute, or until criss-cross golden-brown griddle marks have appeared on the tuna.
- Turn the tuna steaks over and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until cooked to your liking.
- Remove the tuna steaks from the pan and set aside on a warm plate to rest for one minute.
- To serve, carve the tuna steaks into thick slices. Divide the salad equally among four serving plates. Place one tuna steak on top of each. Drizzle over the tomato dressing.