In the last week, I've had 3 cooking dreams - all interrupted before I could finish.
1. Roasted Chicken: Easy enough. Roasted a chicken with a lavender thyme lemon butter rubbed under the skin of the breast and the cavity stuffed with shallot, lemon and orange.
2. Black beans: I never got to finish this dream since my alarm went off. But there were a combination of whole and smashed black beans and cilantro. I'm not sure what I was doing with it but I think it was some sort of dip or the beginnings of a burrito.
3. Just now on the train, I had a 10 minute cat-nap, in which I grilled a tuna steak and there was a salsa (that's the word that I called it in the dream) of white beans, tomatoes and something green - scallions? basil? I must think this one through! I'm hungry now.
Sweet Dreams and Bon Appetite!
Showing posts with label tuna. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tuna. Show all posts
Monday, July 20, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Another Scrounge Dinner - Tuna Tonnato-ish
It was another night to scrounge. Nothing sounded good and I was out of my normal weeknight dinner options. My pantry is getting pretty bare so I needed to a little more digging than usual. The result wound up based on an Italian dish called Tuna Tonnato
Tuna Tonnato-ish over Linguini
1 tsp anchovy paste
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small shallot, finely chopped
1 can tuna in olive oil, undrained
1/4 cup white wine
Trader Joe's Starter Sauce ~ 17 oz
(contains tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil, salt and olive oil)
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp dried basil
¼ tsp ground Black pepper
3 heaping Tbs drained capers
~ 15 cured black olives, pitted and chopped (Kalamata)
Romano Cheese
1/3 lb thin linguini
Cook linguini according to package directions in a generous amount of salted boiling water.
Meanwhile, add anchovy paste to 1 Tbs olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add shallot and cook until shallot begins to soften, stirring frequently so it doesn’t burn. Add garlic and cook until fragrant and shallot is softened.
Add tuna (along with olive oil) to pan and stir. Pour white wine and cook for ~ 30 seconds, stirring and breaking up big pieces of tuna with a wooden spoon or spatula.
Add Starter Sauce* to the pan then stir in red pepper, basil and black pepper. Mix in capers and black olives. Lower heat to medium and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Taste and add salt as necessary but the capers and black olives should add enough salt.
Add cooked linguini to pan with the sauce and stir together using tongs.
Serve with cheese.
Yields: 2 servings
Substitutions and other Suggestions:
• If you're not lucky enough to have Trader Joe’s Starter Sauce in your pantry, use 14-16 oz canned tomatoes. Whatever you have in your pantry is fine: chopped, diced, whole or even crushed.
• If I’d had artichoke hearts, I would have added them.
• I happened to have Romano cheese for a previous dish. Parmesan cheese works great as well but no cheese is necessary. Just a personal preference.
• I didn’t have red pepper flake or I would have used that instead of the cayenne. ~ 1 tsp+ depending on your heat tolerance
• Toss with Fussily or Rotini pasta and serve chilled or at room temperature.
Tuna Tonnato-ish over Linguini
1 tsp anchovy paste
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small shallot, finely chopped
1 can tuna in olive oil, undrained
1/4 cup white wine
Trader Joe's Starter Sauce ~ 17 oz
(contains tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil, salt and olive oil)
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp dried basil
¼ tsp ground Black pepper
3 heaping Tbs drained capers
~ 15 cured black olives, pitted and chopped (Kalamata)
Romano Cheese
1/3 lb thin linguini
Cook linguini according to package directions in a generous amount of salted boiling water.
Meanwhile, add anchovy paste to 1 Tbs olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add shallot and cook until shallot begins to soften, stirring frequently so it doesn’t burn. Add garlic and cook until fragrant and shallot is softened.
Add tuna (along with olive oil) to pan and stir. Pour white wine and cook for ~ 30 seconds, stirring and breaking up big pieces of tuna with a wooden spoon or spatula.
Add Starter Sauce* to the pan then stir in red pepper, basil and black pepper. Mix in capers and black olives. Lower heat to medium and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Taste and add salt as necessary but the capers and black olives should add enough salt.
Add cooked linguini to pan with the sauce and stir together using tongs.
Serve with cheese.
Yields: 2 servings
Substitutions and other Suggestions:
• If you're not lucky enough to have Trader Joe’s Starter Sauce in your pantry, use 14-16 oz canned tomatoes. Whatever you have in your pantry is fine: chopped, diced, whole or even crushed.
• If I’d had artichoke hearts, I would have added them.
• I happened to have Romano cheese for a previous dish. Parmesan cheese works great as well but no cheese is necessary. Just a personal preference.
• I didn’t have red pepper flake or I would have used that instead of the cayenne. ~ 1 tsp+ depending on your heat tolerance
• Toss with Fussily or Rotini pasta and serve chilled or at room temperature.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Lesson Learned: Trusting Your Purveyor
One of the first lessons in any restaurant management class is to Trust Your Purveyor. I can't stress the importance of this. Even as a seasoned cook, I relearned the lesson recently.
As with any dish, the quality of the ingredients will become the deciding factor of a good or bad dish. Even more than the skill of the chef.
I've been craving one of my favorite tried and true dishes lately - Ahi Poke. It's a simple Hawaiian dish of marinated raw tuna in a mixture of soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, scallions and spices. Not a complicated dish or difficult to make. What makes this dish delicious is the quality of the tuna.
I've had a tough time finding a good purveyor of sashimi grade tuna. Every so often Whole Foods gets in a shipment, flash frozen. While buying it frozen is not my favorite thing to do, I've had good luck at other Whole Foods stores in other cities. This weekend, I was in luck! Even at $24 per pound, I was so excited just to have found it that I trusted the fishmonger and let him wrap it up without inspecting the fish myself.
As I cut it into cubes for the Ahi Poke, I noticed the color of the fish was paler than normal. It wasn't too stringy or fatty so I thought it was maybe just a different type of tuna than I'm used to. Another mistake I made at the store - I didn't ask what exactly the fish was or where it came from.
Finally, the dish was ready to eat. My other half takes a bite and I wait for the reaction. There was none. Huh?? he should be saying "Yum! This is good!" I ask if there's anything wrong with it. he said, "No. It's fine." FINE??? Ahi Poke is FINE?
I take a bite and see what he's talking about. While not spoiled and without a bad stench, the tuna is just "eh." Somehow, this $24 per pound tuna has NO flavor! It was so disappointing, neither of us had seconds and I actually threw away the leftovers. Something that would normally evoke reactions of rage or tears.
*Sigh* Lesson Learned.
Below is my beloved recipe for Ahi Poke.
2lb Sashimi grade tuna, cut into 1/4" - 1/2" dice
1 cup Soy Sauce (low sodium is preferable)
3/4 c. chopped green onion, white and light green parts only
2 Tbs. Toasted Sesame Oil*
1 tsp. Toasted sesame seeds
1 Tbs Crushed Red Pepper
2 tsp Wasabi powder (or to taste)
Combine all ingredients and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, stir again and serve.
* Toasted Sesame Oil is different from regular Sesame Oil and the flavor of the Toasted oil is much richer and tastier in this dish.
Serving suggestions:
Sushi Rice - let cool slightly before serving with tuna.
Sesame crisps - made by brushing a VERY light coating of Toasted Sesame Oil on store-bought, packaged Wonton wrappers, toasting in a 350 degree oven for approximately 5 minutes until golden. Take care not to let them burn.
Edamame Puree - shelled edamame, cooked for 5 minutes, pureed in a blender with lemon juice, a Tablespoon of vegetable oil, a pinch of salt, a teaspoon (or to taste) of Wasabi powder and a few Tablespoons of water, until the mixture is a paste texture.
Extra prepared Wasabi and/or Crushed Red Pepper
As with any dish, the quality of the ingredients will become the deciding factor of a good or bad dish. Even more than the skill of the chef.
I've been craving one of my favorite tried and true dishes lately - Ahi Poke. It's a simple Hawaiian dish of marinated raw tuna in a mixture of soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, scallions and spices. Not a complicated dish or difficult to make. What makes this dish delicious is the quality of the tuna.
I've had a tough time finding a good purveyor of sashimi grade tuna. Every so often Whole Foods gets in a shipment, flash frozen. While buying it frozen is not my favorite thing to do, I've had good luck at other Whole Foods stores in other cities. This weekend, I was in luck! Even at $24 per pound, I was so excited just to have found it that I trusted the fishmonger and let him wrap it up without inspecting the fish myself.
As I cut it into cubes for the Ahi Poke, I noticed the color of the fish was paler than normal. It wasn't too stringy or fatty so I thought it was maybe just a different type of tuna than I'm used to. Another mistake I made at the store - I didn't ask what exactly the fish was or where it came from.
Finally, the dish was ready to eat. My other half takes a bite and I wait for the reaction. There was none. Huh?? he should be saying "Yum! This is good!" I ask if there's anything wrong with it. he said, "No. It's fine." FINE??? Ahi Poke is FINE?
I take a bite and see what he's talking about. While not spoiled and without a bad stench, the tuna is just "eh." Somehow, this $24 per pound tuna has NO flavor! It was so disappointing, neither of us had seconds and I actually threw away the leftovers. Something that would normally evoke reactions of rage or tears.
*Sigh* Lesson Learned.
Below is my beloved recipe for Ahi Poke.
2lb Sashimi grade tuna, cut into 1/4" - 1/2" dice
1 cup Soy Sauce (low sodium is preferable)
3/4 c. chopped green onion, white and light green parts only
2 Tbs. Toasted Sesame Oil*
1 tsp. Toasted sesame seeds
1 Tbs Crushed Red Pepper
2 tsp Wasabi powder (or to taste)
Combine all ingredients and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, stir again and serve.
* Toasted Sesame Oil is different from regular Sesame Oil and the flavor of the Toasted oil is much richer and tastier in this dish.
Serving suggestions:
Sushi Rice - let cool slightly before serving with tuna.
Sesame crisps - made by brushing a VERY light coating of Toasted Sesame Oil on store-bought, packaged Wonton wrappers, toasting in a 350 degree oven for approximately 5 minutes until golden. Take care not to let them burn.
Edamame Puree - shelled edamame, cooked for 5 minutes, pureed in a blender with lemon juice, a Tablespoon of vegetable oil, a pinch of salt, a teaspoon (or to taste) of Wasabi powder and a few Tablespoons of water, until the mixture is a paste texture.
Extra prepared Wasabi and/or Crushed Red Pepper
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