Kampot Pepper Seared Ahi Tuna is truly special for a couple of reasons. First, the bright, bold and delicious Kampot Pepper is from the Pepper Project, and second, a super quick, simple cooking process.
I ordered a bundle of Kampot pepper from the Pepper Project mid-way through reading about it on one of my favorite food blogs, Blue Kitchen. Who knows, maybe I’ll inspire you to do so, too.
What is Kampot pepper?
- First discovered by Chinese explorers in the 12th century, this pepper is cultivated in Cambodia in the province of Kampot.
- This pepper is highly regarded among food connoisseurs and ranks as the finest gourmet pepper in the world.
- Kampot pepper, which is a certified organic product, is incredibly aromatic, pungent, bold, bright and delicious.
What is the Pepper Project?
The Pepper Project is a not-for-profit enterprise devoted to introducing products of Cambodia to the United States, primarily pepper. One hundred percent of the proceeds from sales of these products goes to support fair trade for farmers and to organizations that protect street children, disabled children and victims of sex trafficking.
(You can learn more about the Pepper Project here.)
Look how lovely my package of pepper is — with a hand written, personal note, literature about the Pepper Project, recipes, seeds, and the wonderful pepper itself in beautiful hand made bags.
How to Make Pepper Seared Ahi Tuna
This is a simple and quick process.
- Place Ahi Tuna fillet on a clean work surface.
- Lightly sprinkle all of the sides with salt.
- Generously sprinkle all the sides with pepper.
- Lightly coat a pan with a neutral oil, with a high burning point, like grapeseed.
- Preheat the pan over high heat.
- When the pan is very hot, add the Ahi and sear each side until it’s only cooked through about 1/8-inch. This will only take a minute or so – total!
- Remove it from the pan, let it cool a bit, slice and serve!
(More detailed instructions are below.)
The first dish I made with Kampot pepper was this gorgeous Pepper Seared Ahi Tuna.
The flavor of the pepper makes this some of the best Ahi I’ve ever tasted. So if you didn’t realize that using a high quality, freshly ground pepper would make a difference — trust me, it does!
Now please, enjoy this Kampot Pepper Seared Ahi Tuna.
Kampot Pepper Seared Ahi Tuna is truly special for a couple of reasons. First, the bright, bold and delicious Kampot Pepper is from the Pepper Project, and second, a super quick, simple cooking process.
- 4 (4-ounce) Ahi tuna fillets, sushi grade
- salt
- 2 to 3 tablespoons black pepper (preferably Kampot), finely ground
- grape seed oil for the pan
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Place the number of Ahi fillets you're serving on a clean, dry plate or cutting surface. (For a slightly fancier plate presentation, you can slice each fillet into 2 to 3 long, rectangular pieces.)
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Lightly sprinkle all of the sides with sea salt, then either sprinkle or grind black pepper directly onto the top and bottom surfaces of the fillets. The pepper should be a thin, but generous layer.
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Coat a large sauté pan with grapeseed oil and place it over high heat.
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Once the pan is very hot, add the Ahi and sear each side until it's only cooked through about 1/8-inch, 1 minute or less per side. (If you don't hear a sizzling sound when the tuna hits the pan, it's not hot enough -- wait for the sizzle!)
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Remove the pepper seared tuna from the pan and place each piece on a large plate. Once they have cooled a bit, cut them into very thin slices and serve.
This is also just as delicious served cold and is perfect over a salad of greens.
Pepper should be stored in an airtight container, in a cool, dark place. Experts recommend grinding or cracking whole peppercorns right before use.
Shannon C says
Love to douse my fried eggs in freshly ground pepper 🙂
valentina says
delicious, Shannon!
Frankie says
Love to use fresh ground pepper when cooking greens, kale, or fresh veggies.
Stephanie Larison says
I use pepper on most everything while I’m cooking. I’m not the best cook so everything needs a bit of flavor! lol
Stephanie Larison says
Follow on pinterest…stephanie64030
Linda S. says
I normally use peppercorns in mundane ways: I add it when making chicken broth, or when boiling shrimp. But I’d like to try using it it in peppercorn-crusted tuna, or another fish.
shannon Baas says
I like to use pepper on many things.
Lana says
Of vourse you would support such a worthwhile organization:) I have to say I have never heard of Kampot pepper, but I love the way they conduct business. I use whole black peppercorn I bring from Serbia, as it is so flavorful, so aromatic and so pungent that I cannot find anything similar in the U.S. But, I would love to try Kapmot pepper:)
BTW, that tuna looks perfect and I want some NOW!
Melody says
This fish looks amazing! I’m going to try to make it for our family friends this Saturday. Thanks! (Pepper looks great too.)
Cindy says
I would mix this wonderful pepper with toasted sesame seeds and sear it exactly like you did!
Beth says
Such an interesting idea!! Love your unique recipe’s …… yours is my absolute favorite cooking blog! I follow it religiously..
Roberta says
This is just one of the many things I love about cookingontheweekends.com: who knew of any such thing as Kampot pepper? I can’t wait to try it and the Ahi recipe. I’m marking my calendar on May 17 to come back and order this if I don’t win it.
Sandy miller says
Pepper steak comes to mind and big, fat juicy heirloom tomatoes with freshly cracked pepper. I have not heard of this product before, but I love to try new products, especially one that I use so frequently.
Sandy
Aimee says
I love everything about this – love trying new gourmet goodies, love the social-consciousness of the company, love Ahi and your delicious recipe, and love pepper! I use it on almost everything and I’m so interested to see how this pepper compares to what I normally use. Thank you!
Judi says
I love freshly ground black pepper on balsamic-drizzled strawberries. Incredible flavor and a wonderful, gentle heat.
Colette says
I’ve never tasted kampot pepper, but I’d put it into my muhammara, ohhhh yes!
Janet says
I usually put black pepper on and in most of my recipes. It helps season the food as I do not use much salt.
Thanks for the giveaway!
rachel says
I do a lot of Asian cooking, so this would be a great fit.
sippitysup says
I’m a big pepper fan but I don’t know this one. GREG
Lydia Harpe says
I like to put black pepper on a lot of things; most recently I used it on fresh corn on the cob!
Lydia Harpe says
I follow you on twitter; my name is @LydiaInTheHouse.
Mary Beth Printsky says
I love salt and sweet and all kinds of recipes feature salt with chocolate. So, now I really want to try this recipe which I will share on my own face book page,”MB’s Musings and Promotions” where I promote all that I love and share my thoughts on many subjects. Many blessings to you and I can’t wait to win! MB
jacquie says
nothing to interesting – I would likely just use on a salad of lovely spring greens. though I have to say those cookies sound pretty good so I would likely be trying it in them.
jacquie says
already a subscriber to your newsletter.
David says
What a wonderful way to get a bag of pepper! I am ordering today – and I also shared this with my colleague Karna who runs an anti-trafficking organization in Tucson, and teaches a class about worldwide trafficking at the university. Thanks for sharing this, your wonderful photos and a mouth-watering recipe!
valentina says
Thanks for sharing this with your colleague, David. The folks at the Pepper Project are great, and I know appreciate that we’re spreading the word. And thanks for all of your kind words. 🙂
diane Baum says
I use black pepper in everything, because I have high blood pressure, I have to stay away from the salt and pepper jazzes up the taste.
Karrie says
I would use it to make italian chicken and sausage. Delicious!
Amy says
I put cracked black pepper inside pretty much anything (and now my chocolate chip cookies!!). Thanks for the giveaway!
April Bever says
I love fresh pepper on salad
Christine says
I put cracked black pepper on steak
Sand says
I love to add black pepper and Hatch chile to my homemade macaroni and cheese.
Jayme Barrett says
Black pepper goes in so many Moroccan dishes that my husband and I make! Chicken tagine, zaalouk (eggplant deliciousness), and Moroccan lentils! Yum!!
ash says
Pepper is always a great thing and I LOVE the packaging!!!
Jill says
I use black pepper on just about everything that is not dessert!
Pepper-lime beef is one of my favorites though.
Kelsey says
I like to put freshly ground black pepper on my gazpacho!
Tamara Walker says
My husband loves putting freshly ground pepper on everything! This looks great.
David Silverman says
Love the project! Can I put some pepper project pepper on my chicken paprikash? 🙂
valentina says
Thanks, David! Absolutely. 🙂 xo