I met twelve-year-old Frank Liranzo when I was teaching a kids' cooking class at the YMCA's environmental camp in Huguenot, New York. The kids learned how to tap trees to make maple syrup, a process I'd read about but never seen in action. Frank was one of the campers, and he got to experience firsthand the old art of making maple syrup. "You put tubes into the trees so the sap flows out," he says. "When it first comes out of the tree, it tastes like sugary water. Then we went to the sugar shack where we saw the sap boiled down until it tasted like syrup." At the camp, I made this Maple-Glazed Tuna with Pear-Potato Salad for the kids. "I thought it would taste really sugary, but it didn't," Frank told me. "First I tasted the fish, then a hint of mustard, and then an aftertaste of the maple syrup." I love how the syrup adds sweetness and a beautiful caramelized crust to the meaty tuna steaks, while the sweetness of the pears in the accompanying potato salad balances nicely with the glazed tuna.

　　

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

　　1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

　　2 tablespoons maple syrup (see Tip)

　　Juice of 1 lime

　　1/4 cup olive oil

　　Four 6-ounce tuna fillets

　　Salt and freshly ground black pepper

　　4 cilantro sprigs

　　Pear-Potato Salad

　　Avoid imitation maple-flavored syrups, which are typically made without any real maple syrup.

　　

Step 1

1. Whisk together the mustard, maple syrup, lime juice, and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Set aside.

　　

Step 2

2. Season the tuna on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet over high heat. Add the tuna and cook for 30 seconds on each side.

　　

Step 3

3. Remove from the pan and brush both sides of the tuna with the maple-mustard glaze. Transfer to a serving platter and garnish with the cilantro. Serve with the pear-potato salad.

　　

Nutrition Per Serving

Per serving: Calories 334

　　Total Fat 15g

　　Saturated Fat 2g

　　Cholesterol 76mg

　　Sodium 149mg

　　Carbohydrate 8g

　　Fiber 0g

　　Protein 39g

　　#### Nutritional analysis provided by Nutrition Data

　　##### [See Nutrition Data's complete analysis of this recipe](http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/recipe/1305018/2?mbid=HDEPI) ›

　　Reprinted with permission from New American Table by Marcus Samuelson, © October 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.