Tuna Tartare Salad

This salad turns a delicate tuna tartare into a full meal. It's really, really good.

You'll need (serves 2 hungry people):

tartare:

1lb sushi-grade tuna

1 inch piece of ginger

1/2 bunch cilantro

1 avocado

3T roasted sesame seeds

1/4 red onion

1 lemon cucumber

salad base:

1 large peach (mango would be fine here too if peaches aren't in season)

3 radishes

2 large handfuls arugula

dressing:

rice wine vinegar

mirin cooking wine

soy sauce

sriracha

chopped thai chile, optional

Mix dressing ingredients, adjusting quantities to taste.

Cut peach into small cubes and slice radish. Toss with arugula and set aside.

Slice the tuna into very small cubes, removing any white connective tissue as you go. Peel, de-seed, and chop cucumber into cubes of similar size. Peel and mince ginger. Mince red onion. Chop cilantro. Combine all in a bowl and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Pour 2/3 of dressing on tartare and mix to coat. Toss the arugula salad with remaining dressing. Serve tartare in a scoop on top of arugula salad, garnished with more sesame seeds.

Fresh Tuna Burgers with Lemongrass, Cilantro and Ginger

This was a creative way to use up leftover tuna, and other ingredients, from our sushi dinner. You can adjust the recipe easily and throw in whatever you have on hand that you think might taste good (capers, or anything salty and tangy, would go well for a more Mediterranean-inspired mix).

You'll need:

fresh tuna, hand-chopped
lemongrass, ground in a food processor
ginger, minced
cilantro, chopped
soy sauce (I used 1t for 1 burger)
rice wine vinegar (I used 1t for 1 burger)
wasabi (however much you want)
a forkful of mayo to hold things together

Heat a bit of olive oil in a non-stick skillet.

Mix all ingredients together; form patties with your hands, squeezing very lightly so some liquid comes out. Fry about 1 minute/side, flipping very carefully so burger doesn't fall apart.


I put the patty on a bun with avocado, cilantro, pickled ginger, tobiko, and some daikon radish sprouts.

Sushi!

Katie and I made way too much sushi. Stay tuned for some leftovers posts.
Learn from our "mistake": if you want to make sushi,
invite some friends.

pickled mackerel nigiri
with avocado & tobiko
&
hamachi nigiri

closeup of the mackerel-- this was a delicious combo.
the avocado tempered the vinegary fish
and the tobiko added a nice crunch.

salmon nigiri with avocado on shiso leaves

shiso leaves have a strong woodsy citrus flavor
that kind of overwhelmed the delicate salmon

tuna & hamachi sashimi with a dollop of tobiko

salmon, scallop, and octopus sashimi

the octopus was cooked and sliced thin

scallop sashimi is my new favorite!

more pickled mackerel, with avocado,
tobiko, and daikon radish sprouts

tuna with avocado & tobiko,
garnished with daikon radish sprouts

sake, of course

Tuna and Wild Mushroom Pasta

I felt like cooking but not going to the store, so this is a very improvisational recipe.

whole wheat fusilli pasta
1 can tuna
2 anchovy filets, chopped
mixed wild mushrooms, cleaned and thickly sliced-- my mix had porcinis which made things simply delicious. It's worth springing for some good fresh mushrooms.
1 onion, thinly sliced
red pepper flakes (I used about 2T, but you can use less if you don't like spicy)
5 fresh sage leaves
1/4c heavy cream
about 1/2c dry Madiera wine
1/2c grated parmesan

Put salted water to boil for the pasta.

Heat olive oil in a 12" skillet. Saute onions, anchovies, and red pepper flakes about 1 minute; add mushrooms, salt, and pepper, and cooked until browned. Deglaze with Madiera wine and cook until wine evaporates. Flake tuna into mushrooms.

This would be a good time to cook the pasta.

When the pasta is almost ready, add it to the mushrooms and tuna with a little pasta water. Stir in cream and chopped sage. Cook until pasta is done and sauce is thick, about 1 more minute. Stir in parmesan. Serve with more parmesan on the side.

Around the World, Two Ways

Around the World, Two Ways

November 18, 2007

This was a feast to rival our last.
For more lovely photographs by Karen,
or a slideshow of the cooking process, see here.

We wanted to do every course two ways-- roughly an "east" and a "west" (except hors d'oeuvres). All food is from the Saturday Berkeley Farmers' Market, Monterey Market, Tokyo Fish, and the coffee/tea market next to Monterey. All wine is from Vintage Berkeley.

Katie & I shopped & cooked
Karen made the delicious souffle you see in the "Oranges" course
and took all these gorgeous photographs
Katharine brought aperitifs and desert wine
Ridwan brought the fish course wine
Gus brought the pork course wine


Thank you to everyone for making this a delicious meal.

~

Hors d’oeuvres

Shiso leaf and beet with goat cheese and spiced almond

Watermelon radish chips with arugula-walnut pesto and filet cubes

~

Campari & Soda
~

Fish

Miso tuna tartare on daikon ribbons with
sesame sprinkle, nori chips, tobiko and wasabi cream

Arugula, smoked trout, and fennel salad with horseradish cream

~
Jean-Marc Brocard Petit Chablis 2005
~

Butternut Squash Dumplings

Almond sage ravioli with amaretto brown butter
&
Green curry wonton with lemongrass
coconut reduction and Thai eggplant
~
Jean-Marc Brocard Petit Chablis 2005

~

Pork Belly

Thyme roasted with zesty applesauce and celery remoulade
&
Five spice with papaya salad and spicy dipping sauce

~
Borgogno Barbera d' Alba 2006
&
Weingu Niklas Sudtiroler Lagrein 2005
~

Oranges

Chinese Orange Surprise

Grand Marnier Souffle
~

Royal Tokaji 2000
~

Tuna Cornmeal Burgers

Obviously, this is similar to my Salmon Burgers from a few months ago, but this is a quick lunchtime version. I like spicy; put fewer hot ingredients if you don't.

Mix canned tuna with finely chopped green onion, diced jalapeño pepper, red pepper flakes, one beaten egg, a spoonful of mustard and a few spoons of cornmeal; mix until it chunks together (add more cornmeal if it's too wet). Form patties (probably two for a small can of tuna) and dredge them in more cornmeal. Saute on both sides over medium heat until brown and crispy. Serve on a bun or toasted bread with avocado, tomato confit, and sprouts.