Kick'n Up Tuna

Tuna, a universally loved fish, but with many fish, I can't eat it plain. Well, I can, but that is just so boring. Grilled or seared tuna is always wonderful, and sometimes a squeeze of lemon can conjure Sicily, but mostly I need something more.
One combination I sometimes add to tuna is mashed potatoes. This may sound counter intuitive, but it is one direction to go to make a hearty meal. But two plain ingredients really need help. Many like the sound of wasabi potatoes, and that is a fun accompaniment to seared tuna.
Someday, I will share with you a recipe for wasabi potatoes and an herb sauce, but today I have something different in mind. Instead of kick'n up the potatoes, I propose a soy-mustard sauce with some zing and the potatoes to balance that fire. In the time you cook your potatoes, you can mix up your sauce and sear your tuna for a quick, tasty and interesting meal.  Serves 2.

Ingredients:
2 potatoes
1 tbsp ground mustard
1 tbsp hot water
1 tbsp rice vinegar
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tuna steaks
salt/pepper
2 tbsp canola oil
2 tbsp butter
¼ cup milk

Directions:
Peel and quarter potatoes, place in pot and add enough salted water to cover and bring to a boil. Cook until tender, about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix mustard and hot water together. Whisk in vinegar and soy sauce. Set aside.
With a few minutes left in the potato cooking time, heat butter in a small sauce pan (or microwave in a bowl) until melted. Add milk and heat until warm. When potatoes are fork tender, drain. Put potatoes through a ricer, add warmed milk and butter and stir briefly. Riced potatoes will mash quickly. Add additional milk if needed until potatoes are especially smooth. Salt and pepper to taste. Cover to keep warm.
Season tuna steaks with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat until smoking. Add tuna, sear about 3 minutes. Turn tuna and sear the other side an additional few minutes. Outside should be seared golden while inside remains rare. Plate mashed potatoes with tuna on top, and drizzle soy-mustard sauce on top and around plate. Serve.

 

No thank you...

Is this something you would put in your mouth?  To me it looks like something expelled from some an creature.  If not immediately obvious, these are razor clams with seaweed from the exalted el Bulli, possibly the world's finest restaurant up the coast from Barcelona.  Certainly, Ferran Adria is one of the world's greatest chefs, but this dish is something that would challenge me, even if I had waited 2 years on the waiting list and traveled across the ocean to this mecca on coastal Spain.  Maybe it's the soft, slimy texture I can anticipate, maybe it's the color, I just know that while this 'avante-garde' dish may be art, it won't be my dinner. 

Moroccan Lamb Burgers

With Summer’s warm weather waning, grilling goes by the wayside. Tailgating presents one of the few remaining opportunities to soak in those grilled food smells. While tailgaters may go to hamburgers and hot dogs first, this is still an opportunity for interesting food that will please all. This past weekend I seized that opportunity with Moroccan Lamb Burgers. The smell of grilled lamb was positively entrancing, and the Moroccan spices provided just enough to make them different and special. This recipe is adopted from Gourmet, 2007. While entitled Charmoula Lamb Burgers, they remind me of my trips to Morocco and the spices from there I love (cumin topping the list). Not personally an olive fan, I suggest hummus as a spread substitute instead of the recommended tapenade.  A slice of feta cheese to top the cooked burgers also makes a fun addition!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs ground lamb
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp paprika (not hot)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Directions:
Mix the garlic, spices, cilantro and ground lamb until evenly combined.  Form patties.  Grill over medium heat, turning once, 6 to 7 minutes total for medium rare.  Finish with a slice of feta, lettuce, tomato and hummus spread on a toasted bun.

Why do I cook?

Why do I cook? Many nights I want to be taken away. Wishing I was in Italy? Cook something Italian. Remembering that trip to Morocco? Cook Something Moroccan. One thing I cannot afford to do regularly is eat at 5 star restaurants. Can’t eat at Le Bernardin tonight? Cook something from its cookbook. Can’t afford to fly to Napa this weekend? Visit The French Laundry through its cookbook. I also like to cook to do something special. Mostly, it’s to do something special for myself, and sometimes I get the opportunity to cook something special for people I care about. Why do you like to cook?

Veal Saltimbocca (Veal with Prosciutto and Sage)

Is there anything better than veal and prosciutto together? Well, yes, many things, but they are a magical combination. So much so that my last batch inspired me finally to start this blog and a picture occupies the site banner. Veal saltimbocca melts in your mouth and yields the kind of sauce that is so slurpingly good (silently of course)! But questions remain...Is it better to dredge the cutlets in flour? Add cheese? Use Marsala instead of white wine? When do we leave for Rome? These are the questions of our day. Here is my recipe.

Ingredients
4 thinly sliced veal cutlets
4 slices of thinly sliced prosciutto
8 fresh sage leaves, plus more for garnish
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp olive oil
half an onion diced
2 cloves of garlic diced
2 tbsp dry white wine
½ cup chicken broth
salt/pepper


Directions
Lay the veal cutlets flat. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Lay a slice of prosciutto on top of each, and then two slices of sage on top of each. Secure with toothpicks, weaving through the veal, prosciutto and sage.
Heat the oil and 2 tbsp of butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Saute the assembled cutlets until golden brown, 2-3 minutes. Flip and saute the other side for 2-3 minutes. The thin slices will cook quickly. Be careful not to overcook the veal or it will become tough. Remove from the heat, remove the toothpicks and keep warm.
In the pan, soften the diced onions for a few minutes, turning down the heat if necessary to avoid burning. Add the garlic and saute for a further 30 seconds. Add the wine and de-glaze the pan by scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the stock and simmer down somewhat to thicken. Turn off the heat, whisk in the remaining butter, and return the cutlets to the pan spooning the sauce over the cutlets to reheat. Serve with sage leaf garnish if desired.

Toe in the Water

Today, I took the plunge!  Of course, there are about a million others already in the pool, but this isn't really about them, it's about me - and you.  Come with me as I share my passion for cooking, and how it has made my life better.  Cook to Grow - happiness, joy, and most of all - yummyness!