Marinated tuna with orange-caramelized fennel, sesame and poppy seeds

• 30 minutes to prepare • 20 minutes to cook • Serves 4

Open sesame

There’s a lot of buzz in the diet world about negative calorie foods.

The expression “negative calories” generates confusion itself as it suggests there are foods which possess no calories. We know instead that all food contains some energy because they include carbohydrates, proteins or fat in varying amounts.
The theory of negative calories states that your body uses more energy to digest some kinds of food than the amount of energy that food actually contains. The phrase refers to a category of foods with such few calories that from eating them alone, there is potential for a net loss of calories from the body.

There is however much controversy about the negative calorie diet and some experts call it a mystification.
We are not sure as to whether negative calorie foods are fact or fiction. There needs to be more research done in order to prove or disprove the theory. Still, if negative calorie foods contain fewer calories and are healthy foods, it can be a a great option if you’re on a calorie-counting diet!

Fennel is listed among these foods, low in energy content but high in nutrients.
Today we will combine it with some seeds-crusted tuna, enriching its freshness with orange and honey. The caramel flavor will definitely convince you: fish and vegetables are good summer buddies!

Here's what you will need for the 4-serving recipe

600 g fresh tuna
800 g fennel
4 oranges
1 tablespoon honey 
4 tablespoons poppy seeds 
4 tablespoons sesame seeds 
EVO oil
salt and pepper

1. Put the tuna fillet in a terrine, and drizzle it with the juice of 2 oranges
2. Seal the container with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes
3. Meanwhile, finely chop the fennel and braise it with 2 tablespoons of EVO oil. Once fennel has softened, add the juice and the pulp of the 2 other oranges
4. Simmer until the juice evaporates almost completely. Add a pinch of salt, the honey and grind some pepper. Continue cooking until fennel is ready, then keep warm
5. At this point, drain the tuna and cut it into pieces (about 3-cm size)
6. Place sesame and poppy seeds in a small bowl. Stir to mix and coat tuna pieces in the seeds mixture, pressing well on all sides
7. Place 1 tablespoon of EVO oil in a pan and once it reaches the necessary heat (the oil should sizzle), add tuna pieces and cook them for 2 minutes. Be careful not to overcook them, so that tuna stays rosy inside. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper
8. Remove seeds-crusted tuna from the pan and place them on a bed of caramelized fennel. Serve immediately

Nutrition Facts are listed for this recipe in the table below. Data is provided per serving.

Let's call it the positive effect of negative calories!