Seared tuna with basil guacamole

This is vaguely inspired by a Jamie Oliver recipe, but because I didn't have most of the ingredients and I did have an avocado about to be past its best, I improvised and came up with this. The basil guacamole was also a consequence of not having the right ingredients (are you sensing a trend here?), and of my having once been to a fab Tuscan-Mexican fusion restaurant near where we used to live in New York, called Matilda. This is really, really easy to make. Like, you could do it in under five minutes if you set your mind to it easy.

Ingredients:

2 fresh tuna steaks

250g baby spinach

250g cherry tomatoes, halved

a few good handfuls of fresh basil

1 avocado

1 fresh red chili, deseeded and chopped (optional)

juice of 1 lime

olive oil

salt and pepper

Serves 2.

Peel the avocado, and put it together with the chili (if you are using it), the lime juice and two thirds of the basil in a bowl. I was going to mash it all up but decided to whizz it in the blender instead. Up to you really.

Rub both sides of your steaks with salt, pepper and olive oil, then sear in a hot dry frying pan for one minute on each side. Bear in mind that they will continue cooking after they are off the heat, and don't overdo it – you want the tuna to be pink in the middle.

Arrange the spinach, tomatoes and the rest of the basil on plates, and drizzle with olive oil. 'Arrange' is a bit of a misleading description for what I did really. 'Throw hastily together while the tuna is cooking' would be more accurate. Top with a steak and a good dollop of guacamole. Garnish with a final sprig of basil if you are feeling aesthetically motivated. Season with salt and pepper, and devour.