Seared Albacore and Red Chard

So I haven't posted anything in over a week! Shame on me for being so slack; Tim's been away for almost a week and I've either had too much time on my hands or have overbooked each day since he's been gone. That being said, I haven't been cooking for him this week, just myself, which can sometimes seem like more effort than its worth, especially since he always cleans up the kitchen.

We both tend to travel for work a fair bit, so we end up making some changes to our routine to adapt; Tim eats frozen pizza and I have to do my own laundry. When I'm on my own, I can get pretty lazy and have nights where I am quite content to have an apple with peanut butter for dinner. But I digress.

Last week before he left, I whipped up this seared albacore dish with red chard. My mom makes a delicious red chard and I decided to copy her, mostly cause I was feeling inspired by the beautiful leafy green tops and bright red stalks, and also because sometimes you just need to switch it up.

Bear in mind that you can use any leafy green here you wish-rainbow chard, spinach, baby bok choy, whatever you have on hand or whatever your favorite green is. I also happened to use albacore because not only was it fresh and beautiful, but it was also on sale.

Seared Albacore with Red Chard

1 bunch red chard, leaves ribboned and stems diced

1/2 yellow onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, diced

2 portions albacore, I used a 4oz and 7oz piece

Olive Oil

1 orange, zested

Salt, Pepper

*Grapefruit balsamic vinegar

Prepare the marinade for your fish: rinse fish and pat dry and place in a shallow bowl with 1tbsp olive oil, salt, pepper, and about 1tbsp of orange zest. Let sit while you prep your chard.

Heat a deep skillet over medium high heat. Add a little olive oil to the pan and sautee your onions for 3-4 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and the chard stalks and sautee another 2-3 minutes, then add the leaves and let them wilt. Turn off the heat and let sit until ready to plate.

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat and add a little olive oil. Cut your orange in half and squeeze some juice over the fish just before you place it in your skillet, seasoned side down. Season the top side with salt, pepper and orange zest while the bottom browns. Flip after 3-4 minutes; you should see the fish turn from translucent to opaque as it cooks. Sear for another 3-4 minutes, but don't cook  your tuna all the way through as it tends to get tough.

Add your wilted chard to a plate or bowl, and top with a dash of salt and freshly ground pepper. I drizzled mine with a fabulous grapefruit balsamic vinegar, but you can use the other half of your orange to dress the chard otherwise. Top with the albacore, another squeeze of orange and crack of pepper, and you're ready to eat.

Enjoy!