Low maintenance has been my M.O. lately. It’s late summer and the vibes are lazy, so why should my recipes be any different? I realize my previous post gently reimagined the iconic tomato sandwich. And today’s could be easily classified as the same. These Tuna Club Tostadas borrow most of their cast from the much-beloved club sandwich, which is really a tomato sandwich on steroids. So yes, these tostadas are yet another riff on the sandwich of the season. But my repetitiveness doesn’t make these beauties any less delicious, so let’s make them.
As I said, a club sandwich is really a fancy tomato sandwich. It’s a double-decker tomato sandwich with extra protein but it is still a tomato sandwich. The mayo is there, the lettuce is there, and you best believe the tomato is there. Now these Tuna Club Tostadas are not as faithful to the club sandwich. Sure they have the mayo, the lettuce, the tomato, and yes, the crispy slices of bacon but that is where the similarities end.
In place of the usual shaved turkey, this tostada sports a marinated, seared tuna steak, sliced nice and thin. And in place of the usual three slices of toast, I went for one blue corn tortilla, fried nice and crispy. I suppose you could add another fried tortilla and make these into tostadas stacks so they are closer to their double-decker forerunner. But these were already hard enough to eat daintily, so I would proceed with caution if you choose to go that route.
The first thing we’re going to do is build a marinade for the tuna steak. This is a nice and simple mixture of ginger, soy sauce, honey, wasabi paste, and a splash of sesame oil. Whisk everything together and pour it over the tuna. We don’t need to marinate the tuna for very long. Just leave it for roughly 30 minutes and you should be good to go. Don’t leave your tuna steaks for more than two hours or they might get tough. I purposely didn’t add much acid to this marinade as it tends to “cook” the fish ceviche-style if left too long. But even without citrus juices or vinegar, there is still acid in this mixture. Soy sauce for instance is slightly acidic. Plus, your fish doesn’t need more than an hour to absorb the flavor of the marinade. So what’s the point?
With the tuna safely in its marinade, we can move on and tackle the avocado mayo and cook the bacon. I like to cook my bacon in the oven because it babysits itself and it doesn’t clutter my workspace. Cooking bacon in the oven couldn’t be simpler. All you have to do is line a baking sheet with tin foil or parchment paper and lay out your bacon. Set your oven to 400° F and pop the bacon in. That’s right, you don’t have to preheat the oven. In 20-25 minutes you will have perfectly crisp, evenly cooked bacon and zero grease burns on your forearms. Everyone wins.
Slices of avocado, while delicious, can be slippery in a stacked situation, so I opted to combine mayo and avocado for an extra buttery spread. And I think I accidentally stumbled upon my new favorite condiment. Pack a diced avocado into a food processor. Add a clove of garlic, ginger, lemon juice, soy sauce, mayo, and a whack of fresh cilantro. Blitz everything together until buttery smooth. Transfer the sauce to a bowl and chill until ready to use.
The lemon juice in the avocado mayo brings a zing but its more important role is keeping the avocado from oxidizing and turning an unpleasant brown shade. All this is to say, don’t omit the lemon juice. Or if you must, try to eat your avocado mayo the same day you make it. It will start to brown pretty quickly without the lemon juice and while this won’t affect the taste, its appearance might be off-putting. We eat with our eyes first, after all.
From here, most of the work is done on your cutting board. You know, slice your tomatoes, a jalapeño if you’re nasty (I am), and get your mixed greens organized. I like to have all of this worked out before I fry my tortillas and sear my tuna steak, so they’re nice and hot when I build the tostadas. And yes, once the toppings are prepped, fry your tortillas and sear your tuna steak. And yes, you can do both in the same pan, just be sure to drain off some of the oil before you introduce the steak.
I will leave it here because I’m sure you will build your Tuna Club Tostadas in a way that makes sense to you. I will again suggest that you put your mixed greens on the bottom so the other toppings can keep them in line. But that is everything you need to know about these beauties. I will be back next week with something that is not at all tomato sandwich-related. And yes, I can hear your relief from here.
Enjoy!
Tuna Club Tostadas
Equipment
- 1 Food processor or blender
- 1 Large Cast Iron Skillet
- 1 baking sheet
Ingredients
Marinated Tuna Steaks
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp honey
- 2 tsp fresh ginger minced
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp wasabi paste
- 2 tuna steaks
Avocado Mayo
- 1 avocado diced
- 1 clove garlic peeled
- 1 small lemon juiced
- 2 tbsp mayo
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp fresh ginger minced
Tuna Club Tostadas
- 4 strips thick cut bacon
- 4 blue corn tortillas**
- Neutral oil for frying
- 2 marinated tuna steaks see above
- 1 batch Avocado Mayo see above
- 1 cup mixed greens
- 2 large heirloom tomatoes sliced
- 4-5 cherry tomatoes sliced
- 1 jalapeño sliced
- Fresh cilantro for sprinkling
Instructions
For the Tuna
- Place the garlic, soy sauce, honey, ginger, sesame oil, and wasabi paste in a bowl. Whisk to combine and pour it over the tuna steaks. Transfer the steaks to the fridge and chill until ready to cook.1 clove garlic, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tsp honey, 2 tsp fresh ginger, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp wasabi paste, 2 tuna steaks
For the Avocado Mayo
- Place the avocado, garlic, lemon juice, mayo, soy sauce, and fresh ginger in a food processor. Blitz until very smooth. Transfer to a bowl and chill until ready to serve.1 avocado, 1 clove garlic, 1 small lemon, 2 tbsp mayo, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp fresh ginger
For the Tostadas
- Line a baking sheet with tin foil. Lay the bacon onto the bacon sheet without overlapping the slices.4 strips thick cut bacon
- Place the bacon in a cold oven and set it to 400°F. Cook the bacon for 20-25 minutes, rotating once halfway through, or until crispy. Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with a paper towel and set aside to drain.
- Heat an inch of neutral oil in a large cast iron skillet until rippling. Add a tortilla and fry until crispy on both sides. Transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel and set aside to drain. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.4 blue corn tortillas**, Neutral oil
- Drain all but a tablespoon of the oil from the skillet. Add the tuna steak and sear over medium-high heat for a minute or two. Flip and repeat. Transfer the steak to a cutting board and slice.2 marinated tuna steaks
- Slather the tortillas with the avocado mayo and top with the mixed greens, bacon, tomatoes, tuna slices, jalapeños, and cilantro. Serve immediately.1 batch Avocado Mayo, 1 cup mixed greens, 2 large heirloom tomatoes, 4-5 cherry tomatoes, 1 jalapeño, Fresh cilantro
